WASHINGTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes, and the Boston Celtics cruised to a 122-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points in the Celtics' first road game of the season. Derrick White had 19 and Payton Pritchard added 15 as the defending NBA champions extended their winning streak against Washington to five games.
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Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma watches his shot during warmups before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) watches his 3-point basket against Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) gains control of the ball against Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) attempts to shoot against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, top left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards center (17) grabs a rebound agains Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, right, is fouled by Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Jordan Poole scored 20 of his 26 points before halftime in the rebuilding Wizards' season opener, and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 in his Washington debut.
After taking their first double-digit lead just before halftime, the Celtics outscored the Wizards 34-19 in the third quarter put the game out of reach.
Celtics: Two games into its title defense, Boston has yet to be seriously pushed in a pair of wins. Tatum didn't play in the fourth quarter Thursday. Brown and White were the last starters to depart with 8:04 left.
Wizards: With rookies Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington in an extremely young starting lineup, the first half was mostly an encouraging performance. But Washington's third-quarter struggles echoed a recurring problem from last season. Carrington's night ended with a potential injury following an awkward fourth-quarter fall.
Boston closed the first half on a 10-1 run to build its largest lead to that point. Tatum hit a pair of 3-pointers, one from each wing, then fed Brown on the second of back-to-back running layups to stake Boston to a 64-54 advantage.
Washington’s starting lineup had an average age of 22.72 years old. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that is the youngest in the NBA so far this season, and the franchise's youngest since the league began tracking starters in 1970.
Both play again Saturday, with Boston traveling to Detroit and the Wizards hosting Cleveland.
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Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma watches his shot during warmups before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) watches his 3-point basket against Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) gains control of the ball against Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) attempts to shoot against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, top left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards center (17) grabs a rebound agains Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, right, is fouled by Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
CLARKSTON, Ga. (AP) — Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama lent their star power to Kamala Harris’ quest for the presidency on Thursday, as the vice president implored Georgia voters to consider the “brutally serious” consequences if Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House.
Harris asked voters to imagine who'll be sitting in the Oval Office just three months from now and think about the new president's priorities.
“It’s either Donald Trump in there stewing over his enemies list, or me working for you, checking off my to-do list,” she said. “You have the power to make that decision.”
The presence of Springsteen, whose career spans five decades, and former President Obama, still one of the biggest names in Democratic politics, highlights how Harris is leaning on some of the most noteworthy names in the party to help her deliver her closing message and lambast her opponent.
Obama, who got a rousing reception from the rally crowd at a packed high school football stadium outside Atlanta, told his audience, “I get why people are looking to shake things up, but what I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump would shake things up in ways that are good for you."
Harris echoed that message in her speech, warning that “the consequences of him being president again are brutally serious.”
The lengthy rally ran well behind schedule and seemingly took a toll on attendees. While the vast majority of seats remained full, hundreds of people streamed out of the event early as Harris spoke after hours of programming.
The other speakers wasted no time attacking Trump.
Obama argued his successor was always “trying to sell you stuff,” was someone who only cares about "his ego, his money, his status,” and regularly gives lengthy speeches that are “just word salad."
“We do not need four years of a wannabe king, a wannabe dictator,” Obama said before offering Harris as someone “ready for the job.”
After arguing Trump is focused only on himself, Obama added, “If you elect Kamala Harris ... she will be focused on you."
Springsteen, too, focused on Trump.
After a performance of “The Promised Land," a ballad off his 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” Springsteen told the Georgia audience he was backing Harris because he wants “a president who reveres the Constitution.”
“There is only one candidate in this election who holds those principles dear, Kamala Harris. She’s running to be the 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant," Springsteen added before playing "Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Dancing in the Dark.”
The Trump campaign called Harris' use of Obama and Springsteen “a desperate, last-ditch effort to salvage her spiraling campaign.”
“Relying on celebrities is nothing new for the party of Hollywood elites — and as voters realize the depths of Kamala’s incompetence and radicalism, she needs an added draw,” the campaign said in a statement.
Harris' rally in Clarkston — an eastern Atlanta suburb — reflected the suburb’s reputation as the “most diverse square mile in America.” The community has taken in waves of immigrants and refugees, and 40% of its population was foreign-born in 2020.
The DJ working the crowd before the event started called out not only to graduates of historically Black colleges and universities, but to West Indians. Among those in the snaking line to enter were people of Asian descent and women in hijabs.
Many attendees said they were trying to push their relatives and neighbors to the polls to vote for Harris, either through formal volunteer efforts or on their own. “I decided to go volunteer because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut,” said Beverly Payne, who lives in Cumming, a Republican suburban stronghold north of Atlanta.
Payne said she is still working on persuading her mother but has already swung one Georgia vote to Harris. “My 85-year-old father has gone Democratic for the first time in his life,” she said.
Actor Samuel L. Jackson, director Spike Lee and actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry also spoke at the start of the event.
“No matter what kind of shenanigans, skullduggery and subterfuge, the okie-doke, we’re not going back,” Lee proclaimed.
Harris' run of events with celebrities will continue Friday when she travels to Texas for a Houston rally with Beyoncé, according to three people familiar with the matter. The singer is a Houston native, and her 2016 song “Freedom” has become Harris’ campaign anthem.
While the Friday rally is in a red state that even the most optimistic Democrat knows the vice president is unlikely to turn blue in November, the event Thursday in Georgia highlights that state's prominent place in her possible path to defeating Trump.
Democrats, led by then-former Vice President Joe Biden and Harris, won Georgia in 2020, becoming the first Democratic presidential campaign to win the Southern state since Bill Clinton in 1992. Harris’ campaign is hopeful she can keep the state blue in 2024.
Polls of likely voters in Georgia from NYT/Siena to Fox News to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution show a tight race between Trump and Harris.
Thursday's event is the first in the campaign’s “When We Vote We Win” concert series that aims to encourage Harris supporters to vote before Election Day.
Harris is not the only member of the Democratic campaign to lean on star power in the final days. Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, had events in North Carolina on Thursday alongside singer-songwriter James Taylor.
Democrats are known for leaning on high-profile surrogates in the final days of presidential races.
Springsteen has long been a supporter of Democratic presidential campaigns. The artist backed Obama in 2008 and 2012, even endorsing the would-be president in the contentious 2008 Democratic primary. He backed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, performing at a Philadelphia rally on the eve of Election Day, and endorsed Biden in 2020. The New Jersey artist endorsed Harris earlier this month, calling Trump the "most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”
Beyoncé, too, backed Clinton in 2016, performing at an event in Cleveland alongside husband and rapper Jay Z just days before Election Day that year. And Taylor has become a staple at Democratic events and fundraisers.
But Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016, despite the considerable star power behind her, serves as a warning for Democrats that energy provided by big-name artists like Springsteen and Beyoncé is often not enough to win an election.
Harris campaign advisers, though, see events like those in Georgia and Texas as major moments to mobilize voter enthusiasm and get out the vote before Election Day.
According to the Associated Press count, 2,025,645 people in Georgia have already voted early in-person, while an additional 134,336 mail-in ballots have been submitted in the 2024 general election.
Merica reported from Washington. Jeff Amy contributed to this report from Clarkston.
Former President Barack Obama waves to the crowd as Tyler Perry leaves the stage after speaking during a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Former President Barack Obama holds hands with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris after introducing her to speak during a campaign rally for Harris on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at James R. Hallford Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves with former President Barack Obama at a campaign rally at James R. Hallford Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Spike Lee holds signs while on stage at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Bruce Springsteen performs at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spike Lee holds signs while on stage at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Samuel L. Jackson speaks at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spike Lee speaks at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters in Philadelphia, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters in Philadelphia, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Former President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris Vice waves as she boards Air Force Two at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, en route to Atlanta. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
