The Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 118-100 in the NBA play-in tournament at TD Garden on Tuesday, achieving playoff qualification and the opportunity to challenge the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.

In another play-in game that ended earlier, the Indiana Pacers claimed a big win over the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 at home. The Pacers and the Wizards will compete for the last playoff spot at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

Jayson Tatum is the biggest hero behind the Celtics' victory after dropping 50 points at home. He scored 23 in Q3, a career high for a single quarter, and 41 points in the first three quarters, the second time in his career.

"I don't really get caught up in those who think I'm a superstar and those that don't. What does that really mean? I know that my teammates, I've earned their respect. I've earned the respect of the guys I've played against and the coaches. I believe in myself, and that's all that matters," said Tatum.

The Wizards had no solution for Tatum at all defensively. Their only match for him in both size and athleticism, Rui Hachimura, fell into foul trouble early in the first and third quarters. As a result, the Japanese star only played 16 minutes and had eight points.

In order to hide their defensive defects, the Wizards began to trap Kemba Walker and Tatum, the only two Celtics able to create their own shots. That tactic worked in the second quarter and led to lots of transition opportunities. The Wizards turned those chances into easy fast points and took the lead once in the game.

Three-pointers became the Celtics' lifeline in Tuesday's game. Their 27-21 lead in the first quarter came after shooting 5-10 from downtown, just like their 33-25 trail happened after shooting 0-10 from beyond the arc. Fortunately for the Celtics, they found their shooting back in the third quarter, during which Walker and Tatum drained five triples.

The Wizards lost mostly on their disappointing defense. The team shot 3-21 from the 3-point line. Bradley Beal only had only two points in the first quarter and nothing in the last. Russell Westbrook worked hard enough to grab 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and went 8-8 at free throw line to get 20 points. Nonetheless, his 6-18 shooting performance from the field was as bad as that of most of his teammates, who were the major reason for his mere five assists.

In fact, the Wizards' offense was going well only when Ish Smith was on the floor.

Westbrook returned to the locker room before the game was over. When asked if he had suffered any injury, he said: "Nicks and bruises. I'll be alright."

"It's as good as it's gonna get," said Beal, who has been dealing with a strained hamstring recently. "You can call me one-leg bandit if you want. For me, it's just going out and showing my team that I'm out here with them. I'm gonna try and be as impactful as I can. I think I honestly had like four compression sleeves on, but it's just a matter of doing whatever it takes to be out there."

The play-in games for the Western Conference will happen on Wednesday, first between the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs at FedExForum, and then between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.