The Washington Wizards said they were attending the Boston Celtics’ funeral Tuesday, and it turns out they weren’t that far off.
The Wizards, who wore all-black clothing to the Verizon Center for their latest matchup with the rival C’s, manhandled Boston’s defense in a 123-108 victory.
Bradley Beal led all scorers with 31 points, and John Wall wasn’t too far behind with 27 points and seven assists. Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford led the Celtics with 25 and 22 points, respectively.
With the win, Washington improved to 25-20, while Boston lost its third straight game and dropped to 26-18.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford
DEFENSELESS
The first quarter wasn’t kind to the C’s. Boston allowed the Wizards to shoot 72.2 percent from the floor and make 4 of 7 3-pointers, all of which led to a 33-24 advantage for Washington. Marcin Gortat, John Wall, Bradley Beal and Thomas all scored eight points in the frame.
Wall capped the Wizards’ impressive first quarter with this shot off the glass at the buzzer:
The Wizards’ shooting percentage dipped a bit to 64.1 percent overall in the second quarter, but they still had a pretty good frame offensively. They hit four more 3-pointers and scored 33 points to take a 66-59 lead into the break. Markieff Morris, Gortat, Beal and Wall all reached double digits in scoring in the first half.
The C’s also had a good offensive quarter, though, which helped them remain close. Thomas and Horford were Boston’s leading scorers at the break with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
OFFENSE?
The Celtics’ defense had a better third quarter, limiting the Wizards to 44.4 percent shooting with five turnovers, as Celtics reporter Marc D’Amico pointed out. But Boston’s offense only managed 21 points, allowing Washington to build a 91-80 lead heading into the final 12 minutes. The C’s did go on a mini 6-0 run during the third to close within six points, but that was as close as they got.
Boston’s offense did score 28 points in the fourth, but its defense allowed 32 more Washington points. It never really was close in the end.
Oh, and there always was this:
The other big news had to be the minutes distribution. Jaylen Brown (24 minutes), Kelly Olynyk (22), Terry Rozier (18), Jonas Jerebko (18) and James Young (13) received significant playing time, while Johnson only had four minutes.
PLAY OF THE GAME
The play of the game might have happened before the teams ever took the court.
UP NEXT
Boston will head back to TD Garden for a mini two-game homestand, beginning Wednesday with James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports Images
