After blowing a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the Boston Celtics hold on to win 110-104 over the Washington Wizards in overtime down in the Nation’s Capital.
In an epic rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, the first quarter was loaded with nonstop action, leading to a 10-10 tie halfway through the quarter.
Even though the Celtics stood pat at the NBA’s Trade Deadline, they made the Greg Monroe signing official with him making his C’s debut with 3:15 left in the first. He finished the game with five points (2-5 FG), six rebounds, two assists and two steals over 20 minutes.
.@M10OSE's first bucket as a Celtic ☘️ pic.twitter.com/Z3RCcautWD
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 9, 2018
At the end of the first, the Celtics trailed the John Wall-less Wizards, 27-26.
Both teams were shooting the ball well heading into halftime with the C’s shooting 45 percent compared to the Wizards’ 48 percent. The Wizards shot an impressive 54 percent from three in the first half, leading to a 51-49 lead at the end of two.
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Aron Baynes started the game, playing the first seven minutes before taking a seat until the start of the third, when he finished out his fourteen minutes of floor time.
The Celtics started off the third with a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead. And at this point they had several opportunities to extend their largest of the night (at the time).
Almost halfway through the third, Jaylen Brown threw down this ridiculous slam bam!
.@NBAAllStar you guys sure you don't want this in the dunk contest? pic.twitter.com/SRPhol9SNi
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 9, 2018
With four Celtics already in double-digits, they were able to take a 75-70 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was shaping up to be a game of runs. With 10:21 to play in the game, the Celtics went on a 13-3 run to break a 75-75 tie and a take a 10-point lead, their largest of the night. And the C’s run finally came to a stop after a Wizards’ timeout with 5:23 to play.
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Coming out the timeout, the Wizards took it upon themselves to go on a 17-5 run of their own, to take a 94-93 lead with just under a minute to play.
With just 9.8 seconds to play, Kyrie Irving draws a shooting foul on Markieff Morris from beyond the arc. The 89 percent free throw shooter knocked down all three to tie things up at 98.
Bradley Beal had one last chance to give the Wizards the win, but he missed the final shot with Irving all over him.
Leave it to Brown to put the dagger in the Wizards with a filthy step back three in Tomas Satoransky’s grill to put the C’s up 108-103 after a tight pass from Irving.
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BIG three by Brown pic.twitter.com/Y430UMxYkh
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 9, 2018
The Celtics were too much for the Wizards down the stretch as they hustled their way to a 110-104 win.
Irving led all Celtics scorers with 28 points (9-19 FG), five rebounds and six assists. Brown finished with 18 points (3-8 3PT) and Jayson Tatum put up 12 points (5-7 FT). Marcus Morris had 15 off the bench, with Terry Rozier III dropping 12. As a team, the C’s shot 46 percent from the field, but a tough 68 percent from the line.
Otto Porter Jr. ran the C’s for a team-leading double-double of 27 points (9-18 FG) and 11 rebounds. And Marcin Gortat had one too with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Celtics (40-16) welcome the Indiana Pacers (30-25) to the TD Garden on Friday night in the second of a back-to-back. Catch the call of the game with Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell live on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Pre-game coverage begins at 7:00 p.m., with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.
— By John ‘The Dude’ Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com