WASHINGTON — Paul Pierce won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics. The small forward now has such aspirations with the Washington Wizards.
The final meeting this season between the Eastern Conference squads provided little challenge for Pierce’s new team. The future Hall of Famer knows five straight upcoming road games in seven days against Western Conference powers will be daunting.
Forward Kris Humphries scored 18 points, Pierce had 17 points in 18 minutes and the Washington Wizards demolished the Boston Celtics 101-88 on Saturday night.
No nail-biting this time against the Celtics as the Wizards (21-8) never trailed, opening a 15-2 lead before four minutes elapsed and were up by at least 17 points after each of the first three quarters. Washington led by as many as 24 points and never let the second-half margin dip below 15 points until the final 90 seconds.
“They really took the game to us,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after Boston’s fourth straight loss. “They dictated from every which way.”
Forward Jeff Green scored 23 points and forward Jared Sullinger had 12 for the Celtics (10-18).
The third game between Washington and Boston came just shy of three weeks after the teams split a frantic back-to-back series. The Wizards blew a 23-point lead before winning 133-132 in double overtime one day after a comeback fell short in a 101-93 loss in Boston on Dec. 7.
Guard Rajon Rondo played in those games. Pierce’s former teammate and the last link to Boston’s NBA championship team was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 19.
Pierce expressed little satisfaction in beating the team he played with for his first 15 seasons.
“I don’t think about it like that,” he said. “They moved on. They’re in rebuild phase. It’s a new era now.”
The same could be said for the John Wall-led Wizards, who made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008.
Wall, coming off a dazzling Christmas Day performance in Washington’s 102-91 victory over the New York Knicks, had 12 points against the Celtics. The point guard added seven assists and an electric 360 degree layup.
Now comes the Wizards’ longest road trip of the year with powerful opponents. Washington faces the Houston Rockets on Monday followed by Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.
“It is a test,” Pierce said. “We get a chance to play against some of the upper-echelon Western conference teams. It will be a great measuring stick to know where we are. We know we’re one of the upper echelon teams in the East.
“If we want to be champions, if we want to say this is an opportunity with the East being wide open for us to get to the finals, this gives us an opportunity to gauge where we are as an elite team in this league.”
Asked if he believes the Wizards are among the elite, Pierce said, “Without question.”
The Celtics acknowledged the game was determined early.
Boston’s other three starters besides Green and Sullinger — center Tyler Zeller and guards Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley — combined for seven points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field. Forward Kelly Olynyk added 15 points.
“Teams are just coming out and smashing us in the mouth,” Sullinger said. “We’ve just got to be prepared for it. People feel like we’re sweet or soft, and we’ve got to play tougher.”
Humphries, who spent last season with Boston, sank 9 of 14 shots from the field while coming off the bench. He had nine rebounds and helped Washington outrebound Boston 48-36.
The two former Celtics outscored the current Celtics 19-12 in the first quarter. Pierce had 11 points on 4-of-4 of shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers. Humphries entered midway through the quarter and had eight points during the next three minutes.
Boston traveled to Washington after Friday’s 109-107 loss at the Brooklyn Nets. Their offensive never arrived. The Celtics missed 12 of 16 shots from the field and trailed 30-12 after the first quarter.
“We really came out focused from the start,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.
Now comes the real test for Pierce’s newest team.
NOTES: F Otto Porter scored 12 points C Kevin Seraphin had 10 for the Wizards. … Washington has played a league-low 11 road games, one fewer than Boston. … G Jameer Nelson, acquired in the Rondo trade, scored three points coming off the bench for the second straight game since receiving a start on Dec. 23 at the Orlando Magic. … Wizards F Paul Pierce, the former Celtics great, scored a season-high 28 points in Washington’s double-overtime win over his former team on Dec. 8. … Boston won’t play until Dec. 31 when it hosts the Sacramento Kings.