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Key Moment
Overtime was Kyrietime in our nation's capital Wednesday night.
Kyrie Irving put the Celtics on his back after regulation ended at Capital One Arena, scoring all 12 of his team's points during the final 2:58 of overtime to put the Washington Wizards away.
Half of those points were scored during a two-possession span, as Irving knocked down a pair of the most ridiculous 3-pointers of his Celtics career.
Down 123-122 with 42 seconds remaining, Irving caught a pass from Terry Rozier on the left wing, where he was met immediately by John Wall. The Wizards' point guard did his best to try to prevent his counterpart from attempting a go-ahead triple, but Irving didn't care. He dipped the ball down low and between his legs, before rising up, despite having Wall's hand in his face, to bury a cold-blooded dagger.
Wall responded immediately with a game-tying lay-up on the other end, but Irving wasn't done.
No, he saved his most impressive feat for last.
Irving stuck around the D.C. logo on Boston's next possession, dribbling back and forth as he plotted his next move.
He didn't move much further, however, as he suddenly rose up from 31 feet and splashed home the game-sealing shot. Wall had no idea the attempt was even coming. He was standing at least 10 feet away at the time, with his feet firmly planted inside the arc, and he paid the price for it.
Bradley Beal and Wall would both miss game-tying attempts on Washington's next possession, after which Irving was fouled and sent to the line with 2.4 seconds to go. He knocked down both freebies to give Boston a 130-125 win, giving him 38 points on the night, including all 12 of Boston's points during the final three minutes of overtime.
Key Player
Kyrie Irving led the game in scoring, but he certainly didn't lead Boston's offense all by himself. The Celtics got an equally important scoring lift from Marcus Morris, who dropped in 27 points against his twin brother Markieff's team.
Fresh off of a season-high 31-point effort against the Pelicans Monday night, Morris kept his hand warm for Boston's matchup against the Wizards. He knocked down 11-of-20 from the field to give him 25-plus points in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Per usual, Morris also came through in the clutch, tipping in two put-back shots during the final 100 seconds of regulation to help the C's force overtime.
On top of all of that, the veteran wing also corralled 9 rebounds, dished out two assists, and did not turn the ball over a single time during his 40 minutes of play.
Box Score Nuggets
- Kyrie Irving scored 38 points, including 12 during the final three minutes of play.
- His counterpart, John Wall, logged 34 points, including 19 during the fourth quarter and overtime.
- The Celtics shot 100 percent from the free-throw line (25-of-25) for the second time this season.
- Irving knocked down 10 of those freebies, going 10-of-10 from the line.
- Jayson Tatum logged his third double-double of the season, tallying 12 points and 12 rebounds.
- The Celtics won the rebounding battle, 50-41.
- John Wall dished out 13 assists, accounting for more than half of his team's total (25).
- Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 11 turnovers.
- Marcus Smart stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
- Daniel Theis fouled out with 7:18 remaining in the game, after logging 14 minutes.
- The Celtics blocked two shots. Robert Williams tallied both of them.
Quote of the Night
Kyrie Irving on Marcus Smart, who made a number of winning plays.