The Washington Wizards defeat the Boston Celtics 121-102 in game 4 to tie the series up at 2-2. The Wizards were led by their dynamic backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal who combined for 56 points and a huge third quarter helped the Washington pull away.
To start, the Wizards jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and got off to their normal quick starter we’re used to seeing from them. This, however, was short-lived as the Celtics countered with a 14-5 run and were being led by a barrage of three-pointers by Isaiah Thomas. At the end of the first, the Celtics were leading 24-20 and had their first, first quarter lead of the entire series.
Isaiah Thomas splashing it from 3 early on pic.twitter.com/4SK1d4iN3J
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 7, 2017
In the second quarter, Thomas continued his hot shooting and started the quarter off with back-to-back uncontested three’s. However, after starting the game 0-of-9 from the field, Wall went off for 14-points in the quarter and the game was tied 48-48 at halftime.
This move and no-look dish from John Wall is a little ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/ZdAVrxkbI6
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 7, 2017
In the first half, Boston utilized a lot of off-ball screens and cuts to the basket that served to be very successful for Boston. As for Washington, they struggled with holding onto the ball in the first half and had 10 turnovers as a result of that.
In the third, Washington quickly went on an 11-0 run to take a 59-53 lead with 7:37 remaining. After a Boston timeout, the Wizards exploded and turned their 11-0 run into a 26-0 run in the blink of an eye. They were getting contributions from everyone on the court and forced 9 Boston turnovers that led to 21 Washington points. Washington also scored 16 fast break points in the third and Boston had no answer for them and trailed 90-68 entering the fourth.
26-0 run by the Wizards ?#DCFamily
(Via @clippittv) pic.twitter.com/Ip12KSGhNg— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 8, 2017
After their third quarter run, the Wizards never looked back and their lead was never threatened by Boston as they couldn’t get anything going offensively. Frustrations for Boston showed as Isaiah Thomas picked up a technical near the halfway point of the quarter and was subsequently subbed out for the rest of the game. Washington can credit their huge third quarter for their win tonight.
The home team has dominated in this series and it was no different in game 4. However, game 5 will be a must-win for each team as they both try and take a 3-2 series lead on Wednesday.
