The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have played nine times this season, including five games in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. They now lead the series 3-2. Boston G Avery Bradley picked up his second career technical foul, saying, “I can’t get any more technicals”. They won the first two games at home and they could continue to do so here.
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With 10:58 left in the first quarter, the Celtics were down 4-0.
When asked about having the chance to close the series in Washington, Avery Bradley said: “It’s a great opportunity to make the Eastern Conference finals and we’ve got to understand that”.
Smart didn’t exactly light it up shooting 3-for-7 for 9 points, but he nearly finished with a triple double with 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
“They kind of surprised us”, Wall said. “Our guards and bigs didn’t do a grat job of getting back and they were just running out for layups and threes”. “When you’re as good as Brad”, Brooks said, “there’s going to be extra attention on you”. Here’s the real kicker-and get ready for this-the Celtics actually outrebounded the Wizards 48-45, something that played a huge role in Boston controlling the pace and scoring a ton of points on fast breaks. But he wasn’t playing with this Wizards fan, and absorbed a fine because of it.
John Wall finished with with 21 points, but those came on 17 shots. By halftime, Boston pushed their lead to 67-51 after leading by as many as 22. These breakdowns came in the first quarter, so fatigue can’t be blamed. He is posting up Thomas underneath the basket with either John Wall or Bradley Beal, who are bigger, stronger players and making Thomas work hard on defense. The Wizards have not been a good road team all year.
According to the user who captured the exchange, a male heckler was “screaming all game” at Thomas to “take his toothless a- back to Boston”.
The series has been hugely interesting, with burgeoning stars on both sides and plenty of drama. And the Celtics got it done on the defensive end with 5 blocks and 4 steals in the first half. In addition to Bradley and Thomas, Al Horford and Jae Crowder added 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Boston’s All-Star guard has played with a heavy heart in recent weeks. “For him to be able to do that and be effective with that and score the ball, the way he was doing it (Wednesday night), was a lot of fun to watch”. The fire of Celtics rose up when the first points of Wizards took place in the game. The game was not in doubt after that point. With a little over four minutes to go, both teams mostly subbed out their current lineups to give their starters a rest in a game that was already over. Shot just 24 percent from the 3-point line (7 of 29).
“We’re a team. And it’s going to take a team effort to beat the Washington Wizards”, Bradley said.
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They were supposed to be beyond what transpired Wednesday, a 123-101 walloping in which their final lead was 4-2.
