Alex Sarr: Former Perth Wildcat in baptism of fire in NBA debut as Washington suffers a resounding loss to Boston

Former Perth Wildcat Alex Sarr had a difficult start to life in the NBA as the No. 2 draft pick Washington Wizards fell to defending champion Boston.

In a baptism of fire against the Celtics juggernaut, Sarr finished the 122-102 loss with two points on 1-for-7 shooting – including missing all five of his three-point attempts.

The 19-year-old Frenchman grabbed five rebounds and showed his defensive skills with two blocks in 22 minutes of playing time.

Sarr wasted no time in scoring his first NBA points, grabbing an offensive rebound after a layup attempt from Kyle Kuzma and throwing down a dunk less than five minutes into the game.

The 213cm center also blocked a shot attempt by two-time Olympic gold medalist Jrue Holiday, helping Washington take an early eight-point lead over the home fans.

But the longer the game went on, the more difficult it became for Sarr and the lowly Wizards – who finished with the league's second-worst record last season – as Jayson Tatum and the reigning champions took the lead.