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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fourth quarter technical fouls are a cardinal sin in the NBA. Thankfully, Jae Crowder redeemed himself with a game-winning layup to give the Boston Celtics their third straight win, a 119-117 victory over the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center Saturday night.
Brad Stevens has built a reputation on crafting some incredibly effective ATOs in his short time as an NBA coach, and Saturday’s game-winning play was beautiful in its simplicity. Marcus Smart hit Crowder right on the money by lofting the ball over Kelly Oubre’s head, and Crowder finished the play.
Asked what he wanted on the final basket, Brad Stevens said bluntly, “What we got.”
Stevens didn’t seem overjoyed when he met the media after the game. As great as the Celtics’ final scoring play was, it was nearly negated by John Wall in the closing seconds. Wall used his lightning-bug speed to slice through the Celtics’ defense all night, finishing with 36 points and 13 assists. The Celtics’ coach was frustrated that Wall had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, and he couldn’t have been happy with Crowder’s technical either.
One thing that did make Stevens smile was Isaiah Thomas, who was with Wall step-for-step offensively, dropping 32 points, 15 of which came at the free throw line. Thomas has dropped 30-plus in three of his last four games, but the scoring is only part of the story.
“He’s just going. He’s got a nice rhythm. We’ve got guys who are looking for him,” Stevens said. “I’m more encouraged by the fact that he’s becoming a good defender. He’s really worked hard on that.”
Oh yeah, back to defense. Stevens seems to have a one-track mind when it comes to evaluating his team’s performances, but when they give up 117 points in regulation, the Celtics were probably not defending at the level he wants. Especially frustrating: Wall went the length of the court after the Crowder layup, but thankfully missed his potential game-tying layup.
“He’s really hard to defend. His speed is ridiculous,” Stevens said of Wall. “Imagine trying to keep him in front of you. It’s not an enviable task.”
The Wizards followed Wall’s miss with a put-back dunk, but it was just after the horn and the Celtics held on for a win in front of a crowd that featured a lot of green jerseys.
Throughout the fourth quarter, “Let’s Go Celtics” chants rung out in the Verizon Center, and the hometown fans were hard-pressed to overwhelm them with boos. It was a unique atmosphere for sure, and when the Crowder hit the game-winner, Boston fans erupted and it was hard to tell what gym the game was being played in.
As for the play itself, it was well-executed by Crowder and Marcus Smart. As Thomas walked the ball up, Crowder set a screen on the left elbow for Smart, who popped up to the left wing to take a pass from Thomas. As Smart pulled back, Crowder got behind his man to post up, and when Oubre fronted Crowder, Smart tossed it over the top to Crowder, who laid it in.
“Brad knew exactly how they were gonna play it,” said Crowder, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists. “I wanted to front on the post, to the backside for me so there’s no backside help, and he threw it over the top and I made the play.”
As for the technical, well, that’s another story. After the game, Crowder said he was having a heated exchange with Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman, and was T’d up for returning the same profanity that Wittman used on him. Crowder said Wittman called him “soft,” which didn’t sit well with Crowder.
“Wittman was saying some stuff I didn’t like,” Crowder said. “I felt like he was getting away with a lot of curse words, inappropriate words to me. I retaliated and I got hit with a tech.”
If Wittman was asked about the chirping with Crowder, his response didn’t make it into the postgame quotes distributed by the Wizards.
“I’ve never had that happen, an interaction with a coach,” Crowder said. “But I told the guys, ‘I’ll take the blame,’ I apologize, but we’re still gonna win the game.”
Crowder made good on his promise, and the Celtics got the win. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s a W, the team’s third straight. Crowder will face his old friends in Dallas Monday night. He was part of the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks last season.