Game 2 was a whirlwind of a game in which the Celtics never allowed their fans to get comfortable. In fact, Boston was trailing for nearly the entirety of the game through regulation. Eventually Boston’s defense showed up, though, and the offense rallied around Isaiah Thomas even in the rare moments that he wasn’t scoring the basketball. The Wizards simply couldn’t keep pace on the road or match IT’s fight, and by the end of the game the Celtics fearless leader had a new career high in points on yet another emotional day for his family- it would have been his sister’s 23rd birthday. Boston has now won 6 straight playoff games. Final Score: 129-119
The Game Flow
Did the Wizards have a quick start again or are the Celtics just in slow motion for the first few minutes of these games? Both. The Wizards were draining all of their shots and the Celtics player’s passes seemed to be slightly off their mark to begin the game. This resulted in an inordinate amount of turnovers for the Green (9) and too many transition baskets for the Wizards.
When this combination reared its ugly head again tonight Celtics fans feared the worst. Washington held a firm lead on the scoreboard through the first frame and gave the Garden little to cheer for; but worse yet, IT had picked up 2 early fouls that could have impacted his approach to the game. Lucky for us- it didn’t.
Coach Brad Stevens initially took Thomas out only to put him right back in once he saw Kelly Oubre Jr. getting the call for the Wiz. He finished with 15 points in the 1st (only John Wall had more points with 19) and made fantastic use of having Kelly Oubre Jr. as a defender through out. Both teams were shooting over 60% from the field by the end of the quarter, and the shootout was officially on.
If the first quarter taught the Celtics anything, it’d have to be the fact that they couldn’t win giving up 42 points every quarter. I’d tend to agree there. And while improved communication on the defensive front combined with a cooled-off John Wall surely had an impact, the Wizards being in foul trouble played a HUGE role in the Green surrendering just 25 points in the 2nd, as well.
Markieff Morris managed to start the game and play effectively tonight despite his injured ankle, but he was rendered useless on the bench after picking up 3 fouls in 11 minutes of work during the 2nd quarter. This was a blessing for the Celtics, of course, as they had no answer for the big man who scored 10 of his team’s first 28 points before his minutes were limited. The Celtics used crisp ball movement and solid help defense to scratch and claw their way to the lead in the 2nd quarter – so basically, they went back to basics. Ultimately, however, the 13 point deficit Boston found themselves in thanks to their 1st quarter play ultimately proved too much to overcome during the 2nd, and the Celtics entered the locker room trailing 67-64 at half.
The second half started promisingly enough with Marcus Smart subbing in for Amir Johnson in the starting lineup and proceeding to hit a trey to tie the game. But the game wouldn’t remain tied for long, since John Wall and Co. kicked into fourth gear to rattle off a quick 14-0 run against the Green. The “and Co.” here is meant to be taken literal – everyone was getting involved at this point. Even Bradley Beal popped his head out of the sand to hit a 3 (for context: he was 0 for 8 from deep for the rest of the night).
Every time the Celtics threatened to score on offense a foul would be called against them or an out-of-the-blue turnover would occur, inevitably taking the air out of a building that was just looking for a reason to explode. The 3s had dried up for the time being, so Stevens decided the team was in need of a shot in the arm from a couple of guys with the ability to take it to the basket. Cue the young guns – Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown. Rozier made an immediate impact on the boards and by pushing the offense on the fast break while Jaylen Brown gave a valiant effort on the defensive front, including one in particular that forced John Wall to pass in the waning seconds of the quarter. Considering how terrible the quarter started for Boston, the Celtics were lucky to have only been outscored by 2 during the 3rd.
Coach had obviously liked what he had seen from these two young men, as he had opted to stick with Rozier and Brown to begin the 4th. Much like his decision to start Marcus Smart to begin the 2nd half, this decision paid off immediately with a Jaylen Brown 3 ball. It was then sometime shortly after Brown’s 3 that it became clear to everybody watching: IT was taking over and is on his way to one of the most memorable Celtics playoff performances of the new millennium. In the course of maybe a minute, “the little guy” (trademark – Tommy Heinsohn) drilled a shot from deep and then finished at the rim with the foul. For those counting at home, yes; IT almost went Reggie Miller, but scored a burst of just 6 points in about as many seconds. Avery Bradley followed this up with a lead-snatching 3 shortly thereafter, which came courtesy of another hustle rebound and assist by Marcus Smart. He finished with 18 points in the 4th quarter.
But with a guy like John Wall playing out of his skull on the other side, this game was far from over. Wall had a crucial steal and finish that regained the Wizards lead, and Washington went on a quick 9-0 run over the course of about 4 minutes in the final frame. There were only about 3 minutes left following this outburst of offense from Washington, so who else but Isaiah Thomas and the defense to lead the comeback for Boston? Another sudden run by the Celtics was eventually culminated with Isaiah Thomas driving to the basket only for the defense to collapse on him. Instead of attempting the forced play, which one could argue he’s earned the right to take, Thomas dished to Rozier who was standing all alone with a chance to tie the game. The 2nd year pro stepped up as he has so many times this year, and the game was tied with about a minute and a half left.
But this was crunch time, and after all of this work put in you know John Wall and the Wizards weren’t going down without a fight. They eventually regained the lead once more through a similar play with a Gortat to Porter 3, but Isaiah Thomas was sent to the line with the chance to tie the game with less than 30 seconds left to play- he didn’t miss. Great defense on John Wall and Bradley Beal ended regulation in a tie, and we were headed to overtime.
At this point the Celtics winning seemed all but a matter of time. Isaiah Thomas was too locked in. Al Horford was too aggressive in his play. The young guns were hitting their shots and bringing the energy. When Avery Bradley eventually makes the steal and takes the lead for the Celtics in overtime, it was virtually over. Speaking of steals, the Wizards scored just 5 points during the whole 5 minute period, so credit to the Boston defenders for ramping up their intensity and communication when it counted as well. A Horford layup was followed by another steal, thanks to Marcus Smart, and Isaiah Thomas makes the shot that became emblematic of the Celtics win. He falls to his backside, but the ball falls in, and the foul gets called. IT made this FT as well, which made it a 6 point game with about a minute to go. John Wall’s ensuing desperation 3 was no good and the Celtics ended up winning in overtime, 129-119. The 10 point lead at the end of the OT period was the Celtics’ largest lead of the game.
Giving up 42 points to begin the game is never a good look. Forget about the fact that they shot over 60% in that 1st frame for a second – Game 1 the Celtics found themselves in a 16-0 deficit to begin the game, and now this??? The fact that this is becoming a habit for the team is what’s really pissing us off. Hopefully they can step up their first quarter defense while they’re in Washington.
Isaiah Thomas scores his 50th point of the night and sets the Garden on fire! https://t.co/TLE8c9Z4GT
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 3, 2017
His free throws at the end of regulation were arguably just as clutch, but this play was much more exciting. Obviously the Wizards still had a chance at this point, but with IT’s 50th point and the momentum that the Celtics had at the time, it almost felt as if this basket solidified the win. Then great team defense down the floor the next possession really solidified it. Which brings me to my next point…
Obviously Isaiah Thomas, but I want to start by giving a shout out to his defensive capabilities. He joked during last series that he enjoys being known as a defensive liability, so I wont talk him up too much, but there were multiple times down the court that I caught myself downright ecstatic with his ability to stay in front of John Wall. Oh yea, and he became 1 of 5 Celtics to score 50+ points in the playoffs with a career high 53 points on 54.5% shooting from the field. He added 12 free throws out of a possible 13 and was an all around unstoppable force offensively. Does that sound like a max player to you? And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this stat:
Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points in the 4th quarter/OT on Tuesday. The Wizards scored 30 points in that time. pic.twitter.com/jtzOV5pSAF
— ESPNBoston (@ESPNBoston) May 3, 2017
The Grid
Isaiah Thomas: 53 points (54.5% from the field), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Al Horford: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
John Wall: 40 points (50% from the field), 13 assists, 3 rebounds
Marcin Gortat: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
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