Wizards beat Celtics 116-89 in technical foul-filled Game 3

They were really into the ball. More importantly for Washington, its ability to defend Isaiah Thomas and maintain a lead improved dramatically.

Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 53 points and dedicated the effort to his late sister as the Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards 129-119 in a second-round National Basketball Association playoff game on Tuesday.

In the Western Conference semis, Draymond Green showed off his versatility by knocking down five three-pointers and scoring 21 points before a brief knee scare late in Golden State’s 115-104 victory over Utah for a 2-0 lead.

Bojan Bogdanovic, who only played 8 minutes in Game 2, much to Scott Brook’s chagrin, was 3-3 from three point range in quarter one as well. “There was a point today where he was not feeling good at all”.

“They’re temporary, so if they get hit, they might crack, they might come out”, said Thomas. “They’re not going to give us the game just because we’re on our home court”. This time, the early double-digit deficit came back to haunt Boston, as it fell, 116-89.

As had been the case for the first two games, the Washington starters got a quick jump on the Celtics. “They set the tone”. The point guard took over without the help of Washington’s No.2 scorer, and the Wizards will be unsafe if Beal or someone else can take some of the scoring load off Wall’s shoulders.

The Celtics were led by AL Horford, with 16 points.

The Celts never recovered from Washington’s 22-0 run that was part of its 39-17 first-quarter rampage.

“We played hard. We’ve been in this situation”. “We understood what we had to do and we were locked in”.

As reported by ESPN, the Celtics’ All-Star point guard revealed that Kobe Bryant reached out to him after his sister’s passing and has helped him break down playoff game film.

“It’s fun. John’s a really good friend of mine, someone I’ve known since he blew up in high school”, Thomas said on Wednesday.

The improvement in Thomas’ game has been more noticeable this season, but there’s no doubt that Wall took a leap in 2017, as well.

Neither team is a legitimate contender to win the NBA Finals, and the victor of the series will likely go on to lose to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. “It’s tough. We say a prayer for him”. “When you keep getting hit in the head, you might respond that way and I think that’s what (Kelly) did”. In the aftermath, both benches were standing, coaches were barking at officials, and the backup point guards, Brandon Jennings and Boston’s Terry Rozier, were sent to the locker rooms. Stevens and Brooks each picked up technical fouls well after the outcome had been decided.

There were eight technical fouls and three ejections in all activities between these two franchises over the last few days. Gortat fouled out going for a rebound on Boston’s first possession of overtime.

The Wizards ended up destroying the Celtics in the paint 56-28, with an impressive 82.2 defensive rebound and 30.2 offensive rebound percentage. The home team has won and covered the Vegas spread in all six games these two teams have played against each other this season.

Thomas and Wall have gone back and forth in an incredible duel in two games in Boston, with the 5-foot-9 Celtic prevailing both nights. Role players tend to play better at home and that was certainly the case. The 53 points were the most in an National Basketball Association playoff game since Allen Iverson scored 55 in 2003, and just one shy of John Havlicek’s franchise postseason record of 54. “In my offseason, I live in Orange County, Kobe lives there”.

“I emailed him my film and he watched every second of it, telling me what times to go to and what to look at and certain things I didn’t look at when I watched film”, Thomas said.

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