WASHINGTON D.C. — On the day that reigning NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown turned 28 years old, the Boston Celtics (2-0) blowout the Washington Wizards (0-1) on their season opener Thursday night, 122-102.

Brown, the birthday boy, led the team in points with 27. He didn’t force anything and hit a couple long range jumpers, but it’s been his defense that has taken a big leap so far. Jayson Tatum finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, another double-double on the season. Payton Pritchard also stepped up off the bench, he finished with 15 points. Pritchard was consistent from deep off coming off of screens with the ball in his hands.

The game itself may be what many expected it to go. The Wizards came out the gate with a lot of energy, especially Jordan Poole who scored double digits in the first quarter, he finished with 26 points. However, the Celtics began to pick up the pace in the second half after going into halftime up 64-54.

A good sign for the Celtics is the lack of minutes Al Horford had to play. Big Al only played 20 minutes, letting Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman carry most of the work. It’s a good sign being that Kristaps Porzingis is out, including Sam Hauser. Big man Neemias Queta came in the fourth quarter and did well on the boards, he ended the night with 12 points and seven boards.

Much like Tuesdays win over the Knicks, the biggest difference was the C’s being able to shoot it from deep and stop the opposing team from getting hot. The Celtics finished with 17 made three-pointers, while the Wizards only made seven and shot under 20% from behind the arc.

The Celtics will continue their road trip and head to Detroit to play the Pistons. This string of eastern conference games will solidify themselves at the top of the standings if they continue to play at this level.