Recap: Boston Celtics sneak by Washington Wizards

It was one of the strangest and most exciting NBA games you will watch this season. The Boston Celtics seemed to get outplayed for most of the game but somehow escaped with a 119-117 win over the Washington Wizards.

We thought we were in for a good point guard matchup on Saturday night, but we got a great one instead. Isaiah Thomas and John Wall were exchanging buckets all game long, each player was the reason their team didn’t get blown out.

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Thomas proved why he should be named an All-Star this season as he once again scored at least 30 points (32 points while going 15/16 from the free-throw line). This was the third 30 point game for Thomas in the past five games. Thomas was the main component in their comeback; he was also the catalyst on offense and was able to hit big shot after big shot for the Celtics late in the game.

Despite Thomas’ great game, John Wall outplayed him. Wall put together a monster stat line as he went for his 22nd double-double on the year. He scored 36 points, dished out 13 assists, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 7 steals. There was a couple of times the Celtics would go on little runs and Wall was always the one to hit a big jump shot to stop the run. He also almost brought the Wizards back late in the game after Washington let the lead go.

The matchup down low of Jared Sullinger and Marcin Gortat was a nice surprise to watch. Sullinger has had his problems this season but has played great during these past two games. Tonight he scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out with 4 minutes to play. Gortat had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards. He dominated inside and was the sidekick to John Wall’s monster game.

Jan 12, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Boston Celtics center Jared Sullinger (7) reacts after being fouled against the New York Knicks during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks defeated the Celtics 120-114. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

Sullinger had a great game but the sidekick for Thomas was Jae Crowder tonight. It seemed like they were playing a two-man game on offense, and it worked. Once again Crowder had an all-around solid game. He scored 22 points and had eight rebounds while dishing out six assists. He surprisingly didn’t record any steals but played tough on rookie Kelly Oubre Jr.

Both teams started out the game hot. Everyone was scoring for Boston early, Thomas had two early three-pointers which was a good sign he would once again go off. Boston started to struggle a little halfway through the game, however, they started being careless with the basketball. Isaiah Thomas had five turnovers in the first quarter, Boston had seven as a team. They quickly went to Marcus Smart off the bench to handle the ball and continued with him to start the second quarter.

Defensively, Boston was a mess in the first quarter, and for most of the game. Washington was able to get anything they wanted inside, which is why Marcin Gortat had such a good game. Part of that was due to the amount of turnovers, but tired legs may be a cause as well. Tyler Zeller played five minutes for the Celtics in the first quarter after not appearing in the past three games.

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Either way, Boston played sloppy basketball for most of the quarter and Washington was having their way on the other side. If Boston didn’t have a little run at the end of the quarter then this game may have gotten out of hand, but the Celtics only trailed 31-24 after the first quarter.

If Marcus Smart keeps playing like this then he may crack the starting lineup again. Smart was aggressive all game and was able to finish at the basket. The opposite can be said about Avery Bradley and his shooting. Smart finished with 13 points on 4-9 shooting, while Bradley shot 4-13 for 9 points. Smart’s aggressiveness early in the quarter kept Boston close, but John Wall made sure no comeback was in store yet.

Boston cut the lead to four with seven minutes in the half, but John Wall took over the game and the lead exploded back to 10. Whenever Boston would go on a run, Wall would stop it. Thomas and Crowder each hit a three late in the quarter but Wall followed it up with two baskets of his own. Washington kept a seven point lead at half, 61-54.

Boston needed to come out strong or else Washington was going to pull away. The Celtics started the half on a 14-3 run and took a three-point lead. They were playing tougher defense and not turning the ball over as much. It seemed like Boston might be the one to pull away, but once again John Wall willed his team back to a seven point lead.

Both teams played good all-around games on offense and struggled somewhat on defense. Kelly Olynyk had a good game, scoring 11 points, and was a big factor in the Celtics third quarter comeback.

Jared Dudley may be the silent killer of this game though. Dudley entered the game third in the NBA in three-point percentage, shooting 47.1 percent. Dudley only shot 2-6 from behind the arc tonight but scored 15 points and added seven rebounds in 41 minutes for the short-handed Wizards. With Otto Porter out Dudley played valuable minutes for the Wizards.

Evan Turner and Marcus Smart played a lot of the fourth quarter. It was also surprising that Brad Stevens stuck with the cold Avery Bradley over Smart, although Bradley had a good fourth quarter.

Going into the fourth quarter Boston trailed 86-83. Boston took a 91-90 lead with about eight minutes to play and from there it was all craziness.

The craziness began when Bradley hit a three with 30.2 seconds left to give the Celtics a 114-110 lead. The next play the Celtics dumbly fouled John Wall’s three-point attempt. After Wall missed the first free throw Jae Crowder was called for a technical foul and Gary Neal made the free-throw. Wall made the last two free-throws and then Thomas answered with two of his own. With Boston up 116-113, Wall was once again fouled by Marcus Smart on a drive to the basket. Wall made both and the Wizards were able to foul the 53% free-throw shooting Amir Johnson. He was able to make one of two but Jae Crowder was called for a foul on the rebound, which gave Garrett Temple the chance to tie the game at 117. On the final play of the game, Smart made a nice lob pass to Crowder in the paint after making a backdoor cut to lay it in. John Wall went coast-to-coast but missed the game tying layup as time expired and the Celtics completed the comeback.

You could tell that both teams had tired legs from the night before. It was an exciting game, although sloppy at times. Once again a new Celtics’ big man stepped up, Jared Sullinger, which gave us no answer to the crowded frontcourt Boston has.

The Celtics are off tomorrow, a well deserved rest. Their next game is on Monday at the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30. The Celtics are now 22-19 but are still eighth in the Eastern Conference after the Detroit Pistons blew out the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics have answered their four game losing streak with a nice three game winning streak but will be tested by the surprise Mavericks on Monday.

Next: Isaiah Thomas is fixing his shooting

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