John Wall went for 27 points, 12 points, and 5 steals while Bradley Beal added 29 points and Otto Porter added another 18 to help the Wizards beat the Celtics 121-102 and even up their series at 2-2.
The Wizards’ customary fast start was much shorter than the first three games of the series. Washington opened the game on an 8-0 run, but it didn’t last long as Isaiah Thomas drained three threes in the quarter to help the Celtics get back into the game and take a 24-20 lead after one quarter.
Boston quickly extended the lead out to 12 in the second quarter with John Wall on the bench. It appeared everything was in place for Boston to finally take a commanding lead into halftime, especially with John Wall starting the game 0-9 from the field. But over the final 6:22 of the final 6:22 of the quarter, Wall finally got going with 14 points down the stretch to tie things up at 48 at halftime.
Then the Wizards went on a 26-0 run in the third quarter and LOL the game was over.
The series is now tied 2-2. They’ll play again in Boston on Wednesday in a crucial Game 5 back in Boston.
Game Notes
Offensive rebounding
One of the Celtics’ biggest flaws is their lack of rebounding ability, but the Wizards haven’t done a great job of exploiting that weakness through the series until this game. They grabbed 12 rebounds on the offensive glass and won the overall rebounding battle 45-31. What’s most encouraging about the Wizards’ dominance on the glass is that it came in a game where the Celtics went big more often with Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk getting lots of minutes.