It took four quarters and two overtime periods, but the Wizards pulled out a tough win in Boston on Wednesday night, 125-124. Behind Bradley Beal’s 34 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, the Wizards came out victorious after trailing by as many as 20 points in the first half. Jodie Meeks’ 3-pointer in the corner with two seconds left tied the game and sent it into the first overtime, and the Wizards finished the job after two extra periods.
Washington came to Boston on a back-to-back while the Celtics last played on Sunday. Still, the Celtics were without several rotation players, including All-Stars Al Horford and Kyrie Irving, as well as Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Daniel Theis. The Celtics did not back down despite their missing players, employing a nine-man rotation that took it to the Wizards early.
The Celtics opened the game on a 21-6 run, making 8-of-11 shots. The game appeared all but over early in the first half, with the Celtics taking 49-29 lead with 7:45 remaining in the second quarter. The Wizards lacked energy after a tough loss to the Timberwolves in the nation’s capital on Tuesday night, giving up 6-of-7 3-point shooting and 14 second chance points in the opening half. The Wizards were still able to bring the game within seven points at the half, as Markieff Morris sparked a 10-0 run in the final 2:38 of the second quarter.
Ian Mahinmi, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, had his first double-double of the season. He was especially effective in the first half while the rest of the team struggled, adding eight points and six rebounds off the bench. Mahinmi’s presence down low gave the Wizards key minutes throughout the game, but his offense in the first half may have prevented them from getting blown out.
The game remained close the rest of the way, with the Wizards taking their first lead since 2-0 with 3:35 left in the third quarter, 77-76. After a rough first half, Beal scored 16 points on 7-of-10 field goals in the third to lead the Wizards, who would take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter. Washington held Boston to 9-of-21 (42.9%) shooting in the third quarter, including holding Jayson Tatum to 1-of-5 from the field in the period.
The Celtics regained the lead with a quick 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Boston would lead most of the rest of the way, but the Wizards were right in it late. Marcus Morris was unstoppable most of the game, scoring nine of his season-high 31 points in the fourth. The Wizards trailed by five after he nailed a 21-foot stepback jumper with 2:38 to go.
In the final minute, Beal made three key layups to keep the Wizards within striking distance. Tatum missed an important free throw with 32.4 seconds left and Beal’s third of those layups made the score 104-103 Boston with 20.1 seconds left. Shane Larkin made both free throws with 12.5 seconds to give the Celtics a three-point lead.
Beal missed a 27-footer out of the timeout, but the Wizards were able to retain possession with 5.5 seconds after Aron Baynes knocked the ball out of Tomas Satoransky’s hands on the rebound. Markieff Morris inbounded the ball to Otto Porter Jr., who cut to the lane and found Meeks wide open in the corner. Meeks drilled the 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to tie the game at 106-106.
Overtime.
“No matter how many shots I miss, I have enough confidence in myself to feel better about the next one going in,” Meeks said of the big shot. “In practice, I put the work in, before and after practice, but just to have the confidence from my teammates means a lot.”
In the first overtime period, the two teams switched baskets until Porter nailed two free throws with 19.6 seconds left to give the Wizards a two-point lead. Tatum would score on a finger roll and draw the foul with 3.1 seconds left, but he missed the free throw as they went to a second overtime.
Washington controlled the second overtime almost the entire time, with the Wizards getting their biggest lead of the entire game at six points. The Wizards gave up a few buckets but were able to defend a Tatum 3-pointer in the closing seconds and sealed the win.
”We could have easily folded or gone in the opposite direction,” Beal said of the win. “We could have continued to drop in the seeding, or we could have forgotten about last night and went on to tonight. Granted we were down 20 at one point. (The Celtics) came out a lot harder in the second half. I’m proud of my teammates. We did a good job of staying poised, balanced and battling this one out.”
Even though the Celtics were missing almost all of their starters, the the Wizards were down by 20 and won in a grind-it-out type game in a place they have had trouble winning. Washington won the game by flipping the switch defensively and on the boards. After losing the rebounding edge 25-14 in the first half, the Wizards had 38 rebounds to the Celtics’ 19 in the second half and overtime periods.
“It was a rollercoaster ride,” Scott Brooks said after the game. “It was like two games, a 12- minute game at the start of the game and then the three quarters plus overtime. That’s how we need to play. Credit (to the Celtics), they came out and clawed and scratched and made tough shots.”
”I give our guys credit, we fought back, made it a game and gave ourselves a chance to win by making big plays for one another. Our spirit was good throughout that last three quarters and overtime.”
The Wizards will play another important Eastern Conference game on Saturday as they host the Pacers on Saturday at 7:00pm. The winner of that game will take the season series with the two teams jostling for position.