On paper, the Celtics had no business beating the Wizards on Wednesday night. Yet, the game remained right there for the taking in the closing seconds of regulation and overtime, even after the hosts blew a 20-point first-half lead.
The Celtics fought hard defensively all night, got some timely playmaking from Marcus Morris (season-high 31 points), Terry Rozier (21 points, nine assists) and Jayson Tatum (19 points) to will themselves back into the game after surrendering the early big lead.
Despite a number of great opportunities, the hosts fell short, dropping a 125-124 double-overtime thriller at the TD Garden to a gassed Wizards team on the second end of the back-to-back.
Some of the missed chances were understandable. Tatum was responsible for most of them late in the game. He missed a free throw with 30 seconds left in regulation which would have put the Celtics up four. He missed another free throw with two seconds left in overtime that would likely given Boston the win outright (Wizards had no timeouts left). The 20-year-old also missed a potential game-winner at the end of double overtime, in what ended up as a lackluster final possession after no timeout was called by Brad Stevens.
“I just wanted them to play,” Stevens said of his decision not to set up a play. “I think when we were coming down, we had a five-on-four, we didn’t get anything, but we had an action drawn up to go to. We didn’t run it to a T, and maybe, maybe we could’ve gotten a better look. But I think you give guys an opportunity to make a play to win the game. I think sometimes that’s more important than calling another one. But, yeah, in retrospect now that we lost by one, I wish I would’ve called one.”
The rookie missed his shots and that happens. It’s certainly something that Stevens isn’t going to fault Tatum for after the game.
“Missed shots don’t bother me at all,” Stevens explained. “That’s just part of the game. At the end of the day, you control what you can control. He made a great play taking it to the basket, I thought he did a lot of good things tonight. There’s no question Jayson Tatum at the free-throw line is something we all want.”
The problem for the Celtics is that the game should have never reached overtime in the first place. The Wizards were down three in game with five seconds left and no timeouts. If the Celtics defend the 3-point line, they likely escape with a somewhat improbable victory. Morris was destined to be the hero in this scenario after his scoring outburst, but he ultimately served as the goat in this defeat by leaving the corner on this Wizards possession.
Everything you need to know about the Wizards’ 125-124 double-overtime win over the Celtics in quickie form.
HEADLINES
Undermanned effort falls short:
Despite missing six rotation players, the Celtics gave themselves a chance against the Wizards by storming out to a 51-31 lead in the first half. However, the hot shooting of Bradley Beal (34 points) and Markieff Morris (20 points) powered a second-half comeback for the Wizards. Jodie Meeks hit a game-tying 3 in the final two seconds of regulation and the visitors slugged out enough offense down the stretch of both overtimes to put together a 125-124 victory.
Youngsters take advantage of moment:
Guerschon Yabusele looked solid in his first career start (4 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists) while Abdel Nader (10 points) and Semi Ojeleye (strong defense in 27 minutes) both played crucial roles and big minutes on a Celtics team that was without six roster players in the defeat (Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford).
TWO UP
Morris:
Defensive gaffe aside, this was the best offensive game of the year for the 27-year-old veteran. He hit the 30-point mark for just the fifth time in his career in the win and did it efficiently, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and the field. He’s now averaging 17.2 points per game in the month of March while shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc.
Greg Monroe:
In Boston’s first game of the year in the post-Daniel Theis era, Monroe took advantage of the added minutes. He tallied 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, marking the fourth time over his last six games he’s scored in double figures. The 6-foot-11 center is shooting 64 percent from the field over that stretch. He also added 10 rebounds, giving him his first double-double as a Celtic.
TWO DOWN
Second half rebounding:
The Wizards dominated the C’s on the glass in the second half of regulation with a 27-12 edge in rebounds. They scored 12 points on second-chance points over that stretch despite shooting a high 50 percent from the field. This is a troublesome number for the Celtics considering the team went big with Aron Baynes and Greg Monroe for virtually the entire stretch.
Free throw shooting:
A mere 69 percent from the field on the night, including some costly misses by Tatum (1-of-3) and Rozier (1-of-3) down the stretch. On a night the team didn’t have much offensive firepower, they needed to close the Wizards out when they had the chance to.
TOP PLAY
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
We saw why Brad Stevens doesn’t like to go big late in games:
Without the services of Al Horford or Daniel Theis, Stevens had no choice but to ride with his true bigs in Baynes and Monroe. Both showcased their flaws at various points as Baynes was a non-factor on offense (seven points on 2-of-5 shooting) while Monroe’s defensive limitations led to easy buckets for the Wizards in the fourth quarter at several points. While both guys are appealing for rebounding purposes, there isn’t a good choice among the duo with the game on the line. Horford’s versatility was certainly missed against the Wizards’ length.
Another silver lining in a loss:
If the Celtics are going to lose games in the final month, they are best off doing it to teams like the Wizards and Pacers, who are still in the running for the three seed behind the Cavs. Washington is now just one game behind Cleveland in the standings and with John Wall returning, it’s in Boston’s best interest to have them higher in the East instead of a potential first-round matchup. The C’s still need to win some games to secure the second seed, but they have enough tanking squads left on the schedule where losses like this shouldn’t hurt in the long run.
