The Celtics were missing two starters for Sunday’s matchup with the Washington Wizards, but not the two most fans expected.

After listing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as questionable for the game, Boston ruled Tatum out, upgraded Brown to available and scratched Kristaps Porzingis, who was added to the team’s injury report an hour before tipoff at TD Garden.

The Celtics said Porzingis was unavailable due to illness. The starting center missed eight straight games with an illness early last month but played in eight of Boston’s last 10 contests, including Friday’s blowout win over the Phoenix Suns.

Late in that game, Porzingis absorbed an elbow to the face that left him bloodied and sent him to the locker room for stitches. He did not return, but he smiled as he exited the court and later watched the end of the game from the bench.

Tatum was ruled out with a left ankle sprain. With their playoff seeding as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference secured, the Celtics have had the freedom to rest their key players to prepare for the postseason. Friday’s game marked the first time since Feb. 23 that Boston had its entire rotation available.

Brown is dealing with a painful, lingering knee injury but has chosen to play through it to, he said, teach himself how to be effective when he does not have his usual athleticism.

“I think that’s going to be something I’m going to have to have in my back pocket, so I’ve been just utilizing these games in order to feel things out,” Brown, who missed three games during the Celtics’ recent six-game road trip, said Friday night. Things will get better, I’m sure, but if they don’t, I still have a good feel for where my baseline is at and stuff like that. Because there’s no guarantee, honestly, that rest is going to make anything better. I wish it would, but it’s kind of the cards that are laid out.”

Brown also can miss no more than one of the Celtics’ remaining games if he wants to qualify for All-NBA and All-Defensive consideration, but he said that hasn’t factored into his decision to play.

The Wizards, who own the worst record in the East and are looking to strengthen their odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, ruled out seven players for Sunday’s game, including ex-Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon.

Smart’s new chapter

Among the Washington players who were active Sunday: old friend Marcus Smart, who made his second return to TD Garden this season.

When he visited Boston in December, Smart was adjusting to a reserve role on a playoff-bound Memphis Grizzlies team. But Memphis chose to trade the former Defensive Player of the Year ahead of the NBA trade deadline, and they sent him to one of the league’s least desirable destinations: mid-tank Washington.

Since the trade, Smart has appeared in 15 games for the Wizards, starting one and posting improved shooting numbers (44.0%; 39.2% from 3-point range. He entered Sunday averaging 18.0 points, 4.9 assists. 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per 36 minutes for Washington while adding veteran leadership to a roster that features 10 players age 23 or younger.

“He’s been terrific,” Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said. “We’re obviously thrilled to have him on our team. You guys know here in this town what he meant to the city of Boston. But (he’s a) tremendous leader, tremendous player. Just the knowledge that he has of the game, the amount of the experience he’s been able to pass on to our guys, he’s been terrific.”

Smart played his first nine NBA seasons in Boston, where he was a key cog on Celtics teams that reached five Eastern Conference finals and one NBA Finals. His departure helped the Celtics secure their long-awaited Banner 18, as he was shipped to Memphis in the 2023 trade that netted Porzingis.

The 31-year-old battled injuries during his season-and-a-half with the Grizzlies and now is playing out the string in D.C. But though he won’t be chasing a championship this spring, Smart has sought to make a positive impact with the Wizards, according to his head coach.

“He’s kind of embraced everybody,” Keefe said. “Obviously, we have some youth on our team, so our guys have gravitated towards him. He’s gravitated towards them. He came to play, and he’s shown what he’s capable of, and just the experience he has and the situations he’s been in, to share that knowledge, I would say all of our guys have benefited from it.”

Celtics fans hoping to see Smart take the court against his former team were disappointed, however. Though he dressed for the game, the Wizards announced before the game that he would not play.

Mazzulla backs UConn

Mazzulla wanted to keep his pregame news conference Sunday brief. Why? Because the second half of the NCAA women’s national championship had just tipped off.

“Let’s make this quick,” the Celtics head coach said. “UConn’s playing.”

As Mazzulla spoke with reporters, the Huskies’ matchup with South Carolina was playing on the TD Garden Jumbotron during pregame warmups.

Mazzulla holds legendary UConn women’s head coach Geno Auriemma in high regard and has leaned on him for guidance during his own coaching career.

“He’s been amazing,” Mazzulla said. “I think when I first got the job, (we had) the Italian connection and the New England connection, just being in New England. But to me, he’s the basketball version of what we talk about with Pep (Guardiola). He has the ability to outcoach you tactically, manage the best players, manage talent. The things that some of the best players of all time say about him, it just shows what type of person and coach he is. He really took me under his wing — just how to go after greatness, how to manage talent, how to coach talent at the highest level. You’ve got to know how to deal with that perspective, because I think as successful as he’s been, he’s got great perspective.”

About an hour later, UConn put the finishing touches on an 82-59 rout, giving the program its first national title since 2016 and the 12th of Auriemma’s coaching tenure.

Off the rim

Keefe opened his pregame presser by congratulating Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin for breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record, which he did earlier Sunday afternoon. The Wizards coach is from Winchester, Mass., but he said Gretzky was one of his idols growing up. “We had great teams growing up here — Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton. Obviously, Bobby Orr carries a lot of tradition here. I wore 99 as one of my numbers that I wore when I played soccer (because of) The Great One (Gretzky). So I was actually really a fan of his.”