Doc after beating Wizards: 'A win's a win'

Doc Rivers isn't about to complain about the aesthetic value of the Celtics' first win of the season or the fact that his team blew a 16-point lead to the undermanned Wizards.

All the Celtics coach said he was concerned about was getting out of Washington with a victory.

“As always, all year. A win’s a win and we’ll take it," Rivers said after the 89-86 nailbiter Saturday night at the Verizon Center.

Rivers pointed to defense and the energy he saw from his team as the reason the Celtics were able to hold on despite blowing a 16-point lead. The Wizards were stopped on several possessions in the final minute with a chance to take the lead.

“I thought defense all night. I thought third and middle of the fourth our transition D slipped back to where we’ve been all year," Rivers said. "I thought, especially at beginning of the game, I thought, especially at the beginning of the game, we came out with great defensive energy. I thought [Rajon] Rondo, too. I thought he started with great ball pressure, got into bodies, got over picks. And all of sudden our pick-and-roll defense was good.

“You could see that we’re still not used to doing it. I thought as the game went on we got tired because defense is exhausting, but I thought overall we did a great job of it. I told the guys we couldn’t have missed more wide-open shots. But it’s good to miss all those shots and still win the game. And that’s what we did. We had to get stops four straight times and that’s what we did. That’s nice.”

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