(Photo: Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Wizards 111
Celtics 103
December 24, 2017 | TD Garden | Boston, MA
Probably the most anticipated regular season matchup of the year for the Washington Wizards and their fans, the Boston Celtics felt the wrath of pent up frustration over the last seven months following last season’s Game 7 loss. The Wizards led by a couple possessions throughout the overwhelming majority of the first three quarters, but unlike May 15 last season, they finished strong despite the Celtics taking a lead.
“We are going to be unstoppable, we can beat anybody in this league,” Marcin Gortat said after the game about Washington’s potential if they continue to play this way. On the flip side, “we had games where we play great and we were sharing the ball and we have games where people try to do everything on their own. I'm glad that today we played and we showed up as a team.”
John Wall Wills Wizards To Win Late
More than a week removed from returning to action following two different knee injections, Wall played 39 minutes, his most since his knee soreness, and was the best player on the court. He helped limit Irving to 20 points on 8 of 18 shooting and 5 assists, which is something any team would live with given how well he has been playing since leaving Cleveland. The likely five-time All-Star accounted for 53 points including 20 of the team’s final 24 in crunch time.
During the final seven minutes, Wall:
assisted Beal on a 10-foot pullup shot,
made a free throw,
hit a tough 22-foot step back after Kyrie Irving hit a big three-pointer,
hit Kelly Oubre Jr. with a bullet pass for an easy dunk,
had the dime on the only non-Porter/Morris three to Oubre,
assisted Beal on an and-1 layup,
hit Beal for a fast break dunk after intercepting Irving's pass,
got Oubre another dunk,
scored on a driving finger roll layup after a nice change of speed, and
made a couple of free throws to synch it.
Three-Point Shooting Nearly Costs Washington
Washington was 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc. That is tied for fourth fewest three-point makes this season as well as fourth worst percentage from three. Aside from Otto Porter Jr. and Markieff Morris, 5 of 8 from deep, the rest of the Wizards were a miserable 1 of 16 from beyond the arc including the starting backcourt combining for 0 of 9. Boston was 14 of 29 (48.3 percent) including 8 of 11 (72.7 percent) in the second half from deep.
Hustle, Offensive Rebounding Make the Difference
To overcome that lack of range shooting, Washington had 14 offensive rebounds, fourth most on the season, including a whopping 7 in the fourth quarter. In the final 6:56, Boston did not have a single defensive rebound as the Wizards finished the game 8 of 12 from the field, offensively rebounded three of the four misses, and nearly corralled the fourth if not for Markieff Morris tripping and losing the ball out of bounds. With 12 more field goal attempts than Boston, Washington cashed in with 18 second chance points. After the game, Scott Brooks was proud of his team’s hustle to get after the 50-50 balls.
“It was great effort,” Gortat said. “Outstanding effort. I wish we could play [national] TV game every time because people just literally showed up and they brought 110 percent effort. Unbelievable energy, focus, and we didn't get distracted and we didn't drop our heads down after a turnover or missed shot.”
Balanced Scoring Effort
Bradley Beal: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 40 minutes
John Wall: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists, 39 minutes
Otto Porter Jr.: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 0 assists, 36 minutes
Kelly Oubre Jr.: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 32 minutes
Markieff Morris: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 29 minutes
Marcin Gortat: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 27 minutes
If only Scott Brooks could get away with a six-man rotation because …
Bench Woes Prop Up
At some point, Mike Scott had to return to earth after scoring 149 points on 71.6 percent over the previous 10 games and that happened on Christmas as he was just 1 of 5 from the field. Ian Mahinmi played less than 6 minutes, all coming in the first half, and had zero points and two turnovers. Tomas Satoransky had two points in 9 minutes and Jodie Meeks was scoreless in 8 minutes. Meeks has been shooting the ball at career-worst rates and is a defensive liability that would have probably resulted in a benching if Sheldon Mac (Achilles tear) was healthy.
The bench was a combined -34 compared to the starters +74. In the second quarter, Boston went on a 12-4 run to erase an 8-point deficit against the second unit and in the second half, they had a 14-5 run to take the lead. Maybe this was just an anomaly, but this game showed that Mahinmi still has lapses and when Scott is human, the bench is not the force it was looking like earlier in the season.
Next Game: The Wizards will play in Atlanta against the Hawks in another playoff series rematch from last season in hopes of subduing some of their woes against sub-.500 teams.