Alex Sarr: Former Perth Wildcat in baptism of fire on NBA debut as Washington suffer blowout loss to Boston

Former Perth Wildcat Alex Sarr has endured a tough start to life in the NBA, with the No.2 draft pick’s Washington Wizards blown out by defending champions Boston.

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

The 19-year-old Frenchman pulled down five rebounds and showed his defensive wares with two blocks in 22 minutes of court time.

Sarr wasted little time registering his first NBA points, scooping up an offensive rebound from a Kyle Kuzma lay-up attempt and throwing down a dunk less than five minutes into the game.

The 213cm centre also swatted a shot attempt from dual Olympic gold medallist Jrue Holiday to help Washington open up an early eight-point lead in front of their home fans.

But as the game wore on, things became tougher for Sarr and the lowly Wizards - who finished last season with the league’s second-worst record - as Jayson Tatum and the reigning champs took over.

Tatum finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in just 29 minutes to continue his blazing start to the new campaign, while last season’s finals MVP Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 27 points.

Wizards leading scorer Jordan Poole (26) said he was confident Sarr would be better for the experience.

“Obviously there’s a learning curve with every single player who comes into the league,” Poole said.

“I just told Alex... I’m going to continue to be in his ear, build confidence in him, because we all know how good he can be.”

It came after an unusual delay in the match’s opening moments, with players being forced to pause while the mess from a floorside beer tray spill was cleaned off the court.

The Wizards face another testing assignment next, with Sarr and the team hosting a Cleveland side that reached the second round of last season’s playoffs.