The home team might not lose a game in the second-round NBA playoff series between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
After the C’s opened the series with a pair of home wins, the Wizards held serve on homecourt with two victories, including a dominant 119-100 win in Game 4 on Sunday night to even the series.
John Wall once again ran the show for the Wizards with brilliant all-around play, but it was his backcourt sidekick Bradley Beal who led all players with 29 points.
These teams traded runs in a pretty even first half, but Washington broke the game open with a 26-0 third-quarter burst that Boston never recovered from.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Al Horford
C: Amir Johnson
C’s OVERCOME ANOTHER BAD START
The Celtics took 3:41 before scoring and started 0-for-4 from the field as the Wizards began the game on an 8-0 run. Boston recovered with a 12-2 run, led by a pair of 3-point shots from Isaiah Thomas. Hot shooting from beyond the arc powered an 8-0 Celtics run later in the frame as they took a 20-15 lead with 3:00 remaining. The Celtics ended the quarter with a 24-20 lead — their first edge after 12 minutes in the series. Thomas led the way for Boston with nine points. The C’s shot 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the quarter and their defense held the Wizards to 9-for-22 shooting overall. Boston also did a much better job defending Wall, who went scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in the first quarter.
JOHN WALL FINALLY HEATS UP
Thomas got the Celtics going early in the second quarter with a pair of early 3-point shots. He began the game 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. His fifth 3-pointer opened up a 30-20 Celtics lead and forced the Wiz to take a timeout.
The Celtics opened up a 40-28 lead, but the Wizards then went on a 7-0 run to close the gap a bit. Boston’s lead was cut to 42-39 with 3:12 remaining in the half after a seven-point burst from Wall.
Wall pushed the Wizards to a 48-46 lead with less than a minute left in the half. He made a beautiful behind-the-back dish to Marcin Gortat, made a reverse layup over Al Horford and hit a 3-pointer all in a 90-second span. Wall finished the quarter with 14 points, but the Celtics tied the score 48-48 entering halftime.
Thomas led all scorers in the first half with 17 points, but he had zero points in the last 7:28 of the quarter (Boston had just seven total points in that span). Washington had 10 first-half turnovers, which matched their total from Game 3. The Wizards did dominate the boards 28-18, though.
HUGE RUN SPARKS WIZARDS
Amir Johnson powered a 5-0 Celtics run to begin the quarter with two free throws and a 3-pointer. The Wizards then went on an 11-0 run, aided by five points from Bradley Beal and back-to-back shot clock violations by the C’s.
Washington’s run increased to 22-0 — its second 22-0 run of the series — to open up a 70-53 lead. Boston’s turnovers, poor shot selection and fouling Washington on easy layups to set up and-1s contributed to the outburst.
The Wizards’ run got to 26-0 before Horford and Thomas each scored easy baskets off turnovers. Washington closed the quarter strong, though, and took a 90-68 lead into the final frame after outscoring Boston 42-20. Wall (13 points) and Beal (11) points paced the Wiz in the third, as Thomas (two points) struggled to keep up. Washington also opened up a plus-15 edge in rebounding with a dominant quarter on the glass.
WIZARDS HOLD ON
The Celtics never challenged the Wizards in the fourth quarter as the teams played a pretty even frame. Thomas didn’t score in the quarter and rested for most of it as Celtics coach Brad Stevens primarily used his bench.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Wall is a playmaker, too.
UP NEXT
The Celtics and Wizards return to TD Garden in Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images
