Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics go for their second win of the season against the winless Washington Wizards at 6:00 p.m. EDT on New Year's Day at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. (TV/Radio: CSNNE/WEEI 93.7 FM).
Boston won its first game of the season against the Detroit Pistons, 96-85, in its home opener on Friday night. Jermaine O'Neal scored 19 points -- the most he has ever scored as a member of the Celtics -- and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Celtics, who looked like an entirely different team than the one that dropped its first three games of the season.
Paul Pierce made his highly-anticipated return to action, finishing with 12 points, five assists and four steals in 23 minutes. Pierce missed the majority of training camp with a bruised right heel, which forced the Celtics' captain to be held out of the team's two preseason games as well as the first three games of the year.
Washington has dropped its first three games, losing to the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Brewers. In the Wizards' most recent loss, Jordan Crawford scored 24 points and five assists off the bench in a 102-81 loss the the Bucks on Friday. Rashard Lewis had 14 points and six rebounds, JaVale McGee had 10 points and nine boards and Andray Blatche scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Washington, which shot 35.3 percent from the field.
Boston and Washington played four times last season, with each team winning twice. In the first meeting on November 17, the Celtics posted a blowout win over the Wizards, 114-83, thanks to 23 points from Paul Pierce and Rondo's 13 assists. The next game featured a 85-83 win for Washington courtesy of an 18-point, 11-rebound game from Lewis. Pierce had 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 104-88 win against the Wizards on April 8, but the Wizards won 95-94 in overtime in the season series finale three days later.
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