Celtics hammer Wizards 116-91 to complete season sweep

The Celtics won the game tonight by 25 points, but it looked a little dicey in the first quarter. Isaiah Thomas was the bright spot, scoring 9 points to lead the Celtics. Boston needed it because they shot just 38% in the quarter. Thankfully Washington actually performed worse shooting wise. They took, and missed a ton of midrange shots, which is what you want as a defense. This helped Boston gain a 22-20 lead after an ugly quarter.

Bradley Beal had a rough first half. He was cold from the field, picked up a terrible foul on an Evan turner 3-point attempt, then got elbowed in the nose by Marcus Smart. They couldn't stop the bleeding and Beal couldn't return for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter Washington mounted a run and looked ready to take control of the game. They led by 7 with about 5 minutes to go. But the Celtics responded with their best offensive stretch of the half. They nailed their mid range attempts, and got a few buckets inside from Zeller too. Tyler Zeller was really effective in his limited minutes, and ended up with 7 points in the half.

Isaiah Thomas was sitting most of the quarter, but made the most of the last 30 seconds. He ended the half with a quick five points, and it gave Boston the 53-49 lead at half.

The Celtics kept John Wall bottled up in the first half. He only scored 3 points, and was kept out of the paint. His speed makes him a huge threat in transition, but he wasn't able to make much happen tonight.

The Celtics were clicking in the third quarter and extended their lead to 14. Isaiah Thomas kept up his great scoring game with 9 points in the quarter. He also opened up things for the rest of the team, adding 4 assists too. Kelly Olynyk was pretty effective when the Wizards guarded him with Dudley too. He earned some free throws by attacking him in the post.

The Celtics turned the game into a blowout in the fourth quarter. Smart had a nice quarter. He took a hard flagrant foul, but kept his cool. He then made a great play to fight for an offensive rebound, then kick it out to Olynyk for an open three. Smart even added some threes himself, a good sign given his shooting struggles this year.

Terry Rozier and James Young got some minutes in garbage time which was nice.  David Lee on the other hand earned another DNP-Coach's decision.

Turnovers

Once again, Boston benefitted from forcing their opponent into turnovers. The Wizards committed 20 tonight, and the Celtics scored 28 points off of them. That's huge, especially considering the Wizards struggled shooting tonight as well.

Thomas vs Wall

In the duel between star point guards, Thomas came away the clear winner tonight. He dropped 23 points and dished 9 assists in a great performance. Wall never could get it going and finished with just 8 points on the night.