In Game 4, Wall had his breakout game, scoring 27 points, dishing out 12 assists and running the show to perfection for the Wizards, leading them to a 121-102 victory notching the series up at 2.
Couldn’t have been more impressed with the Celtics’ win in Game 5.
Kind of like the “walk-off” hit in baseball and the “edge” pass-rusher in football, the “two-way player” in basketball is one of those sports terms that seemingly popped up out of nowhere in recent years and quickly became one of the media’s favorite phrases. Thomas scored 18 points and handed out nine assists.
Game 6 is Friday in Washington.
Game 5 of the series is Wednesday night in Boston. He easily got the better of Wizards’ star guard John Wall (21 points, 7-for-17).
Al Horford scored the first points of the second half with a three pointer.
“My mindset was just to come out and be aggressive”, Bradley said. They need to knock down their shots.
We can apply common sense, which given how dominant each team has been on its home court – every game in this series has been decided by double-figures, the last three games by at least 19 points – suggests that the Celtics are winning this in 7 since they have home-court advantage.
Washington had a 16-0 spurt to start game one, a 22-0 run in game three and 26-0 burst in game four. “We’ve done a pretty good job on their best player, but not (a) good enough job on the other guys”.
“They told me they felt like it was going to be a big game for me”, Bradley said of his Game 5 performance. “The coaches kept saying that, ‘Impose your will.’ We were the more physical team tonight”.
For three days, the Boston Celtics were the subject of sour narratives. You have to get guys out there that can make the Wizards pay. He had 13 points. Don’t look now, but the Wizards have a mini-streak of their own: Each of the previous two playoff appearances ended with elimination games at home.
Instead, it was Avery Bradley who paced Boston with 29 points – a playoff career high – to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
The Celtics shot 58.1 percent in the first half and 52.9 percent overall. Oubre was suspended for Game 4, but he returns for Wednesday’s Game 5 in Boston.
Celtics fans chanted “We want Oubre!” With Bradley Beal shadowing him and Marcin Gortat a few feet off of Horford at the top of the key, ready to block a potential Thomas drive, Isaiah ran right into the Washington big man, screening him from getting to Horford when Bradley fed him the ball. Boston G Avery Bradley picked up his second career technical foul, saying, “I can’t get any more technicals”. The Wizards defense is going to continue to focus on Thomas and make his supporting cast beat them.
“If you miss a shot, you miss a shot”, Brooks said. The Wizards 3-point shooting has been a problem in the playoffs, with the team down at 32 percent through 11 playoff games after hitting 37 percent during the regular season.