The Celtics were tested in a big way Wednesday night, but they found a way to get their seventh straight win.
It took overtime, but Boston beat the Washington Wizards in 130-125 at Capital One Arena.
Two big 3-pointers from Kyrie Irving in the extra frame proved to be the difference in what was a narrow, back-and-forth contest that featured 18 lead changes and nine ties.
Irving led the Celtics with 38 points. Marcus Morris (27 points), Marcus Smart (18), Jayson Tatum (12) and Terry Rozier (10) also tallied double figures for Boston. John Wall led the Wizards with 34 points. Jeff Green (22 points), Bradley Beal (22), Kelly Oubre Jr. (20) and Markieff Morris all scored in double digits.
With the win, the Celtics climbed to 17-10, while the Wizards fell to 11-17.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
C: Aron Baynes
EVEN FIRST
The two sides traded opportunities through most of the first, and it was the Wizards who finished the opening frame up 28-24.
Boston had the biggest run of the quarter, outscoring the Wizards 7-0 during the latter part of the frame to turn a six-point deficit into a one-point lead. The Wizards responded by scoring five points in the final 30 seconds to take the lead into the second.
Marcus Morris led all players with eight first-quarter points.
WIZARDS KEEP THE LEAD
Much of the second period played out like the first, but a late push by the Wizards allowed them to outscore the visitors 27-22 and head into the half up 55-46.
A Semi Ojeleye 3-pointer at 7:33 allowed the C’s to take their first lead since the 43-second mark of the first quarter, but the Wizards quickly took the lead back and wouldn’t relinquish it the rest of the frame. With its lead down to four, Washington finished the final 1:45 of the stanza on a 7-2 run.
The Celtics struggled to shoot efficiently in the first half, particularly from distance, going 19-for-50 from the field and 4-for-20 from 3-point territory.
Early in the second, Tatum did provide this highlight-reel dunk.
Beal had a game-high 10 second-quarter points and led all players with 14 in the first half. Irving’s 13 points in 24 minutes led Boston.
C’S WAKE UP
Following the break, the Celtics finally showed some energy, outscoring the Wizards 38-22 in the third to take a 84-77 lead into the final frame.
Despite getting off to a slow start, the Celtics started finding their form. Trailing by 11 within the first minute of the period, the Celtics chipped away and finally retook the lead just before the midway point. From there, the Celtics outscored the Wizards 10-5, forcing Scott Brooks into a timeout at 3:41 with Boston in charge 73-66 after it dropped six points in eight seconds.
C’s rookie Robert Williams III showed his ability to elevate, throwing down an alley-oop from Irving off a pick-and-roll.
Irving led all players with nine points in the third.
WILD FOURTH
It was a chaotic final 12 minutes, with Washington outscoring Boston 39-26 to tie the game and force overtime.
A horrid start to the frame by the Celtics saw them lose their seven-point lead pretty quick. In the opening 2:21 of the quarter, the Wizards went on an 8-0 run, which was facilitated by three Celtics turnovers.
The two sides proceeded to trade blows the rest of the frame, with the Celtics extending their lead to three with 1:15 left. John Wall answered with a dunk to cut the lead to one with a minute to play, but Marcus Morris opened the lead right back up the next trip down with a put-back.
Wall responded with a layup, but Beal then fouled Irving to send him to the line. The C’s point guard drained both, putting Boston ahead 111-108 with 30 seconds to play.
Wall, again, sunk a layup to cut the lead to one, but Irving used a sweet pass to find Tatum under the basket to swell the lead right back to three with 13.9 seconds left.
After a timeout, Beal was sent to the line on an intentional foul. He made his first free throw, and though he missed the second, the Celtics neglected to box out, so he got his own rebound and scored a layup to tie the game.
Irving got the ball with a chance to win the game, but he was unable to make his driving layup, which was well-defended by Washington.
C’s CLAIM OT
The Celtics spent the first two minutes of overtime on a 7-1 run, but their lead wouldn’t last long. After cutting the lead to two, Oubre drained a trey to give the Wizards the lead with 93 seconds left.
Down 121-120, Irving was fouled and sunk both free throws, but Markieff Morris scored after grabbing an offensive rebound with a minute to play. In true Irving fashion, however, he hit a heavily-contested, deep 3-pointer, and made it. Though Wall responded with a layup to tie the game, Irving then hit what ended up being the game-winning 3-pointer, a 31-footer, with 17 seconds left.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Goodness.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will return home for a tilt with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
