Washington Wizards vs. Boston Celtics 2017 NBA playoffs second round Game 1 best and worst



(Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports)

Here are the best and worst moments from the Wizards’ 123-111 loss to the Celtics in Game 1 of their second-round series on Sunday.

Worst dagger: Avery Bradley beat the shot clock with a three-pointer with 2:06 remaining, stole the ball from John Wall on Washington’s ensuing possession and fed Jae Crowder for an easy bucket that gave the Celtics a 14-point lead. The Wizards wouldn’t threaten again.

Best point guard battle: Wall finished with 20 points and 16 assists, though he also had eight turnovers. Boston’s Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 33 points, including 31 in the first three quarters, to go along with nine assists.

Worst injury: The Wizards are hoping they didn’t lose more than a game on Sunday. Power forward Markieff Morris did not return after twisting his left ankle when he landed on Al Horford’s foot in the second quarter.

Worst FT shooting: If you thought Dwight Howard at the line during the first round was the worst display of free throw shooting you’d see in a Wizards game this postseason, well, you were wrong. Washington made 13 of its 22 foul shots in Game 1.

Best hope: The Wizards, who had 17 double-digits comebacks during the regular season, opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to cut Boston’s lead to 95-89. A four-point play and a three-pointer by Bojan Bogdanovic two minutes later had Washington within three.

Worst help: Bradley lost his shoe during a Celtics possession late in the third quarter and struggled to put it back on because Wizards guard Brandon Jennings went out of his way to step on it. Savvy move or just plain savage?

Best Panda: Bradley Beal had another impressive performance, leading Washington with 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting.

Worst quarter: Remember the Wizards’ dominant first quarter, when they scored the first 16 points of the game and were on pace for the biggest blowout win in NBA history? Yeah, me neither. The Celtics seized control in the third quarter, outscoring Washington 36-16 to turn a five-point halftime deficit into a 95-80 lead.

Worst deja vu: It had been 33 years since Washington’s NBA team last played a postseason game in Boston. This wasn’t something they wanted to repeat.

Worst sequence: With the Celtics leading 88-80 late in the third quarter, Wall’s chase-down block on Bradley temporarily prevented Boston from extending the lead to double-digits. The loose ball wound up in the hands of Jae Crowder, who made his fifth three-pointer of the game and his third of the quarter to give Boston an 11-point advantage.

Best game: Crowder finished with 24 points and made six of his eight three-point attempts. His three-pointer with 6:54 to play in the third quarter gave Boston its first lead of a game the Wizards once led 16-0.

Best balance: Early in the second half, an Otto Porter Jr. floater gave the Wizards five players in double figures. The only starter without at least 10 points was Markieff Morris, who was limited to 11 minutes in the first half with an ankle injury. Kelly Oubre Jr., who had 10 first-half points, started the second half in place of Morris, who did not return.

Worst stat: ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy noted during the first half that teams who led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter, as the Wizards did, are 83-8 this season. Washington’s 22-5 lead was a distant memory at halftime, as the Celtics cut the deficit to 64-59. Make it 83-9.

Best foul…if you’re a Wizards fan: Celtics forward Al Horford had a relatively quiet first half, with four points, five assists and three rebounds. He wasn’t happy when he picked up his third foul in the final minute of the second quarter. The foul trouble didn’t hamper Horford, who finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and had 21 points and 10 assists.

Worst second unit: Boston opened the second quarter on an 18-4 run to tie the game, taking advantage of a Wizards bench that struggled mightily throughout the season and in Round 1 of the playoffs.

Worst dental work: Thomas had a tooth knocked out after taking an inadvertent elbow from Porter in the first quarter. The Celtics’ point guard calmly picked it up, handed it to a trainer and remained in the game. ABC’s Doris Burke reported that the Celtics’ team doctor put Thomas’s tooth “back in and repositioned it appropriately.”

Worst surprise: The Celtics would be in a lot worse shape if not for … Kelly Olynyk? The reserve center had 12 points in his first 10 minutes off the bench to help Boston chip away at a double-digit deficit.

Best opening quarter: So much for the Wizards being tired with only one day off after closing out the Hawks. Washington shot 64 percent from the field and outscored the Celtics 38-24 in the first 12 minutes. The Wizards made four of their six three-pointers, including two by Kelly Oubre Jr. on consecutive possessions.

Best explanation: “Just making simple, extra passes,” Scott Brooks told ABC’s Doris Burke when asked about the key to Washington’s hot start. The Wizards had 10 assists on 16 made baskets in the first quarter.

Best Machine: The offensive-minded Polish Machine. After scoring 11 points in the final four games of the Wizards’ first-round series, Marcin Gortat had nine points in the first eight minutes of Game 1. He had a double-double by halftime and finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Best sign: Wall, who did most of his damage around the basket while setting a new playoff career-high with 42 points against the Hawks on Friday, drained his first three jumpers Sunday, including a three-pointer. If Wall’s outside continues to fall, it’ll be a long — er, short? — series for the Celtics.

Worst start: The Celtics were as cold as the Wizards were hot to open Game 1, missing their first eight shots. John Wall had five points and Washington led 16-0 before Boston got on the board with three free throws from Isaiah Thomas with 8:04 remaining the first quarter. Thomas’s first free throw was met with a hearty cheer from the stunned home crowd.

Best start: The Wizards picked up where they left off in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against Atlanta, making four of their first five shots to take a 9-0 lead at TD Garden and prompting Brad Stevens to call a timeout.

Best dressed?: Pregame dress has become a bit of a thing for the Wizards when they take on the Celtics. In January, the team showed up wearing all black for a game since dubbed the “funeral game.” Ahead of Game 1 of this second-round series, Wizards players went a bit more runway.

Debate who the best point guard in the East is, but there is no doubt who the best-dressed point guard is anymore.

Game information

Game 1: Washington Wizards (East’s No. 4 seed, 49-33) at Boston Celtics (East’s No. 1 seed, 53-29)
Date and time: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Channel: ABC
Location: TD Garden, Boston
Regular season series: Wizards 2, Celtics 2

Remaining schedule

Game 2: Tuesday, Wizards at Celtics, 8 p.m., TNT
Game 3: Thursday, Celtics at Wizards, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 4: May 7, Celtics at Wizards, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Game 5 (if necessary): May 10, Wizards at Celtics, TBD, TNT
Game 6 (if necessary): May 12, Celtics at Wizards, TBD, ESPN
Game 7 (if necessary): May 15, Wizards at Celtics, 8 p.m., TNT

What you need to know

>> Among the many story lines percolating within this Eastern Conference semifinal stands the matchup between two of the NBA’s best point guards. John Wall and Isaiah Thomas are not only the most valuable players on their respective teams, they’re fringe-y MVP candidates for the entire league, and while neither of them will win that award, this series will shine a bright light on each of them. Wall, for his part, is getting an “opportunity to show the world” what he’s truly capable of doing, beginning Sunday afternoon in Boston.

>> The Wizards advanced on Friday night on the stellar play of John Wall, who scored 42 points against the Hawks in Game 6. If there was any doubt about Wall’s status as a superstar in the NBA, there is none left, writes Post columnist Jerry Brewer. In the fourth, he scored 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting. And he added a signature and very Wall flurry when his team needed him most.

>> From 2013-15, Andre Miller spent 79 games teaching younger players within the Wizards’ locker room. Those kids — Bradley Beal and John Wall — are now the team’s top dogs, and during Washington’s first-round series against the Hawks, the former player, nicknamed “the Professor,” marveled at the growth displayed by the two star guards. “They’re on the job and learning a lot and they’re healthy. They’re leaders. They’re doing a great job,” Miller said.

>> John Wall never forgets. And two years removed from an apparent slight on Instagram by Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder, the Wizards superstar got his sweet, sweet revenge. How long can one man dream about posting an Instagram rejoinder? Apparently at least two years.

>> Phil Chenier isn’t done in the booth, but the Bullets great and CSN color analyst won’t be the same fixture during Wizards games as he has in the past. Chenier and play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz had their final ride Friday night during Game 6, and he left fans watching with a “Dagger!” call and his booth partner with a kiss.




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