Wizards too hot for Celtics
Washington cruises in technical-filled battle; Spurs lose Parker
John Wall scored 24 points, Isaiah Thomas was held to 13 and the Washington Wizards jumped out to a hot start and rode it to a 116-89 victory over the Boston Celtics in a technical foul-filled Game 3 on Thursday night to cut their series deficit to 2-1.
The Wizards used a 220 first-quarter run to take a 34-12 lead as Thomas and the Celtics kept missing shots and turning the ball over. The game was already a blowout in the second when Washington’s Kelly Oubre Jr. was ejected for charging and knocking over Kelly Olynyk after the Boston big man was called for an illegal screen.
There were eight technical fouls and three ejections total.
Otto Porter and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points apiece for Washington, which improved to 4-0 at home in the playoffs. Washington’s 119 first-quarter points is an NBA record for the first three games of a series.
Responding to what coach Scott Brooks deemed a “bad shooting night” in Game 2, Bradley Beal scored Washington’s first seven points and finished with 11.
Defensively, the Wizards found a solution to Thomas, who was held to 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting. Thomas, who had some dental work adjusted at halftime, scored seven points at the free throw line.
The teams built up quite the hatred during four regular-season meetings, and while hard fouls were part of the first two games in Boston it was nothing like Game 3. Double technicals to Ian Mahinmi and Jonas Jerebko early gave way to Oubre’s outburst as he leapt up from the floor after an illegal screen from Olynyk and bowled over the Boston big man as he was talking to an official.
Oubre could face a suspension for his outburst. But he wasn’t alone.
Pushing and shoving happened throughout, leading to a barrage of technical fouls in the fourth quarter. Stevens and Brooks each picked up technical fouls well after the outcome had been decided.
It didn’t help that things got out of hand early. After starting 16-0 in Game 1 and 16-8 in Game 2 and coughing up big leads, the Wizards extended this one thanks in part to the Celtics shooting 35.1 percent from the floor.
Washington has outscored Boston 119-70 in the first quarter.
“The Wizards have been a great starting team all year,” Stevens said before the game. “They’ve been a great home team all year.”
Washington is now 4-0 at home in the playoffs in large part because of Wall, who continued to find ways to carve through the Celtics’ defense after scoring 40 points and recording 13 assists in Game 2.
Spurs: San Antonio guard Tony Parker will miss the rest of the playoffs after injuring his left leg in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. The Spurs say Parker will need surgery to repair a torn left thigh muscle.
Next up is Game 3 of their tied second-round series with the Rockets on Friday night in Houston.
“If he’s not right or he can’t play, we’re going to have a tough time staying with the big boys,” coach Gregg Popovich said in a late March interview. “When he’s been healthy we’ve had a rhythm, he gets into it defensively and has set a tone on the perimeter for us along with Kawhi (Leonard). His organization of the team is really important, understanding time and score, what’s going on on the court.”
While the 34-year-old Parker is not the dynamic playmaker he once was, he is still hugely important to the team. After the Spurs were blown out in Game 1, Parker responded with 18 points in 25 minutes before getting injured.
Raptors: All- Star point guard Kyle Lowry missed practice because of his sprained left ankle, and the team says more tests are scheduled to determine the severity of the injury. Toronto coach Dwane Casey says Lowry is being listed as questionable to play in Friday’s Game 3 of the Raptors’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
NBA 2K: Cleveland and Golden State are among 17 teams who will participate in the NBA 2K eSports league that will debut in 2018. It is the first eSports league operated by one of the four major pro sports leagues in the U.S. Each NBA franchise will select five gamers to represent its team.