Boston Celtics: Kyrie Irving’s Clutch Shots Late Sink Wizards in OT, 130-125
By Thomas King
The Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards, 130-125, in overtime Wednesday. Kyrie Irving scored 38 points and hit clutch shots late to lead to 7th win in a row.
The Boston Celtics made a huge mistake late in the fourth quarter, failing to box Bradley Beal out on a free throw as he walked into the lane to seize the offensive rebound and the basket, tying the score at 113 for the Washington Wizards and forcing overtime.
Kyrie Irving, however, cleaned up the mess in overtime, nailing two black belt level three-pointers over John Wall to help Boston push its winning streak to seven games with a 130-125 win in Washington D.C. Wednesday night.
With Boston trailing 123-122, Irving caught the ball on the left wing with Wall guarding him up close. Irving jab-stepped, creating just enough space to launch a high-arcing three which swished through the net.
On the other end, Wall drove in for a layup to tie the game at 125 with 30 seconds remaining. Then, as Wall looked around for a defender to screen him, Irving drilled a deep three-pointer to retake the lead, 128-125.
On Washington’s final possession, Beal and Wall both missed three-pointers and Boston escaped with a road victory, improving to 17-10 on the year. The Wizards dropped their third game in a row and fell to 11-17.
Tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game: No brainer. Kyrie Irving hits the rainbow three late in OT, then proceeds to bury the dagger from waaaay downtown! https://t.co/EFUwWJya4l
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 13, 2018
Irving led the way for the Celtics with 38 points and 7 assists. After scoring a season-high 31 points against New Orleans, Marcus Morris tallied 27 points and 9 rebounds in the win Wednesday.
Marcus Smart had two huge offensive rebounds in overtime; one he passed out perfectly to Terry Rozier in the corner, who drilled the three-pointer to go ahead 116-114. On the next play, Smart grabbed the board and put it back himself, reverse on the left side.
Smart finished the game with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Celtics are 7-0 since Smart and Morris moved into the starting lineup. Aron Baynes returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous three games with a sprained ankle.
Gordon Hayward sat out his second straight game with an illness, while Jaylen also missed the game due to illness, after starring off the bench the past three games.
Baynes started, but played just 16 minutes for Boston; he split the time at center with Daniel Theis (8 points, 6 rebounds) and rookie Robert Williams III, who registered 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 14 minutes.
Williams seems to deliver a freakishly athletic dunk or block every time he plays, but he can’t sustain his energy and quickness through multiple efforts yet. Terry Rozier added 10 points and 4 assists off the bench.
https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1073016205844275200
Wall matched Irving nearly point for point, scoring 34 points to go along with 13 assists. Bradley Beal chipped in 22 points, but the two Wizards stars combined for 11 of their team’s 15 turnovers.
https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1073014973633257472
Jayson Tatum missed all four of his three-point field goals, but recorded a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
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Boston will host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, then travel to Detroit for the second end of the back-to-back on Saturday.