hen the Celtics credit Vitaly Potapenko with the top two plays of the game for grabbing consecutive offensive rebounds late in the fourth quarter, it says a lot about the quality of the contest. Play in yesterday's not-ready-for-a-national-audience matchup between Washington and Boston ranged from soporific to ugly to aggravating.

The sellout crowd that paid to see Michael Jordan at the FleetCenter a second time was left watching a game that needed a boost from His Airness and holding signs that read, ''Get well soon, MJ.''