Celtics run away from undermanned Wizards 124-90 to win for 16th time in 18 games

BOSTON (AP) — Luke Kornet scored 13 points and had 14 rebounds, Al Horford had 11 points with 10 boards and the Boston Celtics ran away from the undermanned Washington Wizards to win 124-90 on Sunday night.

Derrick White added 19 points for Boston, making five of the team's 24 3-pointers. The Celtics had a season-high 62 rebounds.

Justin Champagnie scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and Alex Sarr scored 16 for the Wizards.

Boston scored the game’s first eight points. The defending NBA champions led by 16 after one quarter, 21 after two and took a 100-64 lead with a minute left in the third quarter.

Of the Boston starters, only Kornet – who was only in the opening lineup because Kristaps Porzingis rested – saw the floor in the fourth quarter.

Wizards: Washington, which is competing for the worst record in the NBA and the top spot in the draft lottery, listed six players as inactive and rested four others, including Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart.

Celtics: With a 32-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, Boston's bench got extended time. In all, the Celtics' reserves scored 53 points, led by Payton Pritchard’s 20.

Former Celtics guard Marcus Smart received a loud ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard during warmups. Although he did not play in the game, he got in a shouting match with a fan behind the Wizards bench in the fourth quarter; the fan was removed by security.

Sam Hauser made a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that was the NBA’s 31,580th of the season. That surpassed the record set last season. The Celtics’ fifth 3-point attempt of the game was their NBA-record 3,722nd, one more than Houston in 2018-19.

The Wizards are at Indiana on Tuesday. Boston visits the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Washington Wizards' Alex Sarr (20) shoots against Boston Celtics' Luke Kornet (40) during first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Luke Kornet dunks during first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown looks to move against Washington Wizards' Bub Carrington (8) during first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday, left, drives to the basket against Washington Wizards' AJ Johnson (5) during first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Washington Wizards' Alex Sarr (20) keeps the ball away from Boston Celtics' Torrey Craig (12) during first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard, left, drives for the basket against Washington Wizards' Colby Jones (1) during first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Luke Kornet (40) shoots against Washington Wizards' Alex Sarr (20) and Justin Champagnie during first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Moscow freed a Russian American convicted of treason in exchange for a Russian-German man jailed on smuggling charges in the U.S., a prisoner swap that was completed Thursday as the two countries met to repair ties.

Ksenia Karelina is “on a plane back home to the United States,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on social media platform X. She was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. U.S. authorities have called the case “absolutely ludicrous.”

Arthur Petrov was released as part of a swap in Abu Dhabi, United Araba Emirates, according to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia's main security and counterespionage agency. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the U.S. on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the U.S. a year later.

Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine. Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the U.S. carried out in the last three years — and the second since President Donald Trump took office and reversed Washington's policy of isolating Russia in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian and U.S. diplomats met Thursday in Istanbul for another round of talks on improving diplomatic ties. The discussions ended after six hours without statements from the delegations, the Tass and RIA Novosti state news agencies reported.

In February, Russia released American teacher Marc Fogel, imprisoned on drug charges, in a swap that the White House described as part of a diplomatic thaw that could advance peace negotiations. That same month, Russia released another American just days after arresting him on drug smuggling charges.

Karelina, a former ballet dancer also identified in some media as Ksenia Khavana, lived in Maryland before moving to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to visit her family last year.

The FSB accused her of “proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organization that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces. The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a U.S. charity aiding Ukraine.

Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said on Instagram that she had been in touch with her family since her release.

“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s fiancé, Chris van Heerden, said in a statement. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”

He thanked Trump and his envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on X that “President Trump and his administration continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families.”

The exchange was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Karelina was headed to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss her case.

The United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency released photos of Karelina boarding a plane and one of her standing next to Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the U.S.

The FSB, which said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Karelina before the swap, released a video that showed her being escorted to a plane somewhere in Russia. The footage then featured of what appeared to be the scene of exchange at the Abu Dhabi airport, with Petrov walking off a plane and shaking hands with Russian officials on the tarmac.

The same video showed Petrov undergoing medical checkups on a flight to Russia. “I have no particular complaints, just a bit tired,” he said.

Petrov was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of involvement in a scheme to procure microelectronics subject to U.S. export controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical components for the country's weapons industries. He was facing a 20-year prison term in the U.S.

Abu Dhabi was the scene of another high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. In December 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The UAE has been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, while the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai has become home to many Russians and Ukrainian who fled there after the start of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.

This photo released by the state-run WAM news agency shows Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the U.S., left, standing next to U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (WAM via AP)

This photo released by the state-run WAM news agency shows U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina getting on a private jet after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (WAM via AP)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.(AP Photo/File)