Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
NBA PLAYOFFS
TUESDAY’S GAME Thomas rallies Celtics
BOSTON — Isaiah Thomas scored a playoff career-high 53 points, including 29 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to rally Boston to a 129-119 victory over Washington in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night.
Al Horford had 15 points and 12 rebounds while Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each had 14 points for the Celtics.
John Wall had 40 points and 14 assists for Washington.
BOSTON — Isaiah Thomas scored 53 points, nine in overtime, to help the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 129-119 on Tuesday night and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.
Fiddling with the mouth guard he began using after losing one of his front teeth in Game 1, Thomas became the fourth player in the history of the NBA’s most-decorated franchise to score 50 or more points in a postseason game. It was also a career best for Thomas in a playoff game.
Al Horford had 15 points and 12 rebounds while Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each had 14 points for the Celtics.
John Wall had 40 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards.
The series moves to Washington for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Sunday.
WASHINGTON (119)
Porter 5-12 2-2 13, Morris 6-11 3-3 16, Gortat 6-8 2-4 14, Wall 16-32 5-7 40, Beal 4-15 5-6 14, Oubre 5-11 0-0 12, Smith 4-6 0-0 10, Jennings 0-2 0-0 0, Bogdanovic 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 46-99 17-22 119.
BOSTON (129)
Crowder 4-9 6-9 14, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Horford 6-9 2-2 15, Thomas 18-33 12-13 53, Bradley 6-16 0-0 14, Brown 2-3 0-0 4, Olynyk 3-3 0-0 8, Smart 3-7 2-6 9, Rozier 3-8 4-4 12. Totals 45-88 26-34 129.
Washington 42 25 22 25 5 — 119 Boston 29 35 20 30 15 — 129 3-Point Goals—Washington 10-34 (Wall 3-10, Smith 2-2, Oubre 2-4, Morris 1-2, Porter 1-4, Beal 1-9, Jennings 0-1, Bogdanovic 0-2), Boston 13-36 (Thomas 5-12, Olynyk 2-2, Rozier 2-5, Bradley 2-7, Horford 1-3, Smart 1-4, Crowder 0-3). Fouled Out—Gortat, Morris. Rebounds—Washington 44 (Gortat 10), Boston 41 (Horford 12). Assists—Washington 28 (Wall 13), Boston 26 (Smart 5). Total Fouls—Washington 29, Boston 21. Technicals—Morris, Thomas.
MONDAY’S LATE GAME ROCKETS 126, SPURS 99
SAN ANTONIO — Trevor Ariza scored 23 points, James Harden added 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets stormed past San Antonio 126-99 on Monday night in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals, the Spurs’ worst loss in a series opener under Coach Gregg Popovich.
The Rockets made 22 for 50 three-pointers, the most threes attempted and made against the Spurs in the postseason.
Houston had six players score at least 11 points, including 20 points and 13 rebounds from Clint Capela.
Houston led by as many as 39 points, including a 30-point lead in the first half, in the opener of the first series between the rivals since the Rockets’ victory in the 1995 Western Conference finals.
Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, fighting his way to 5-for-14 shooting.
Tony Parker added 11 points and Jonathon Simmons had 10 for the Spurs.
Houston led 69-39 lead at the half, the Spurs’ largest halftime deficit under Popovich.
HOUSTON (126)
Ariza 7-14 4-4 23, R.Anderson 4-12 2-2 14, Capela 8-10 4-5 20, Beverley 2-7 1-1 7, Harden 6-13 5-5 20, Dekker 1-4 0-0 3, T.Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Wiltjer 1-1 0-0 3, Harrell 0-0 1-2 1, Hilario 2-4 3-3 7, Brown 1-4 0-0 3, Gordon 4-8 0-0 11, L.Williams 4-8 3-3 13. Totals 40-87 24-27 126.
SAN ANTONIO (99)
Leonard 5-14 8-8 21, Lee 0-2 4-6 4, Aldridge 2-7 0-0 4, Parker 3-9 4-4 11, Green 3-10 0-3 8, Bertans 0-2 0-0 0, K.Anderson 3-5 3-4 9, Gasol 2-3 2-2 6, Dedmon 3-3 0-0 6, Murray 0-4 4-4 4, Mills 3-7 0-1 7, Ginobili 3-7 1-1 8, Simmons 4-11 2-3 11. Totals
31-84 28-36 99.
Houston .............. 34 35 27 30 — 126 San Antonio ......... 23 16 28 32 — 99 3-Point Goals—Houston 22-50 (Ariza 5-10, R.Anderson 4-10, Gordon 3-6, Harden 3-8, L.Williams 2-4, Beverley 2-5, Wiltjer 1-1, Dekker 1-2, Brown 1-2, T.Williams 0-2), San Antonio 9-29 (Leonard 3-7, Green 2-9, Ginobili 1-2, Parker 1-2, Mills 1-3, Simmons 1-3, Gasol 0-1, Bertans 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Houston 49 (Capela 13), San Antonio 45 (Leonard 11). Assists—Houston 30 (Harden 14), San Antonio 19 (Leonard 6). Total Fouls—Houston 25, San Antonio 18. Technical fouls—Harden, Hilario, Dedmon 3. Ejected—Nene (Houston), Dedmon (San Antonio). Attendance—18,418 (18,418).