WASHINGTON (AP)—The Boston Celtics won their ninth straight game and their 10th in 11 road games. They had a player score his 20,000th point, another his 19,000th and held their opponents without a rebound for an entire quarter.
Even with all those superlatives, the Celtics didnt secure their 104-102 win over the Washington Wizards until the final moments Thursday night.
It took Rajon Rondos(notes) driving dunk with a minute remaining to break a tie. Boston (18-4) began the night tied with Orlando for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Orlando played at Utah later on Thursday.
We believe we can win games in any situation, and thats a good sign, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
Rondo had a season-high 21 points and 11 assists, and Ray Allen(notes) had 18 and became the 32nd NBA player to score 20,000 points. Kevin Garnett(notes) had 17 points, and Kendrick Perkins(notes) added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Primarily a passer, Rondo changed his game for one night.
Tonight it was me being aggressive. I still wanted to pass first, but tonight I had to take the shot, Rondo said.
Clearly their game plan was they werent going to guard him, Rivers said. They were going to give him shots, and he took them.
Gilbert Arenas(notes) led Washington with 25 points, but missed a pair of free throws with 26.7 seconds to play. Arenas missed five of his six free throws.
After Paul Pierce(notes) hit one of two free throws to make it 101-98, Arenas hit a layup with 17 seconds to make it 101-100. Allen hit two free throws with 14.6 left for a 103-100 lead. Arenas and Randy Foye(notes) missed 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Rondo not only was a shooter, he had to try and contain Arenas.
Hes playing one of the premier point guards in the league in Gilbert, so you know hes going to be geeked and jacked up for that, Garnett said.
The Wizards, who have lost three straight, hit their first four shots of the game, and made 10 of their first 15 to take a 26-19 lead with 3:43 to play in the first quarter. Washington missed its last seven shots of the quarter as the Celtics started a 21-6 run to take a 40-32 lead with 8:17 to play in second quarter.
Boston extended the lead to 14 at 64-50 at halftime, shooting 62.9 percent, and holding the Wizards without an individual rebound in the second quarter. According to STATS Inc., that hasnt happened in the seven years it has kept records.
Arenas was embarrassed about his poor free-throw shooting. Entering this season, he was a career 81 percent foul shooter. Now, hes shooting nearly 10 percentage points lower than that, and jokingly said his team might soon be called the Hack-A-Wizards.
Arenas said that his teammates werent lacking motivation against an outstanding team.
We get up for games like this. Its the other games we have to start getting up for, Arenas said. Right now, were a bottom-feeder team.
Allen became the 32nd NBA player to score 20,000 points in his career, hitting a a 3-pointer with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter. Allen came into the game needing 14 points for 20,000, and it was on his mind.
All day today, it was like, Dont get hit by a car. Get out here, dont get hurt, take care of your body, Allen said.
NOTES: Washington played wearing patches on their jerseys honoring late owner Abe Pollin and two logos were placed on the court. Pierce scored 12 points, giving him 19,002 in his career. Washington coach Flip Saunders says theres no timetable for the return of injured G Mike James(notes), who began practicing this week. James has missed more than a month with a broken finger. Boston has won four straight games between the teams. Last season, the Celtics swept all three meetings.
Loading...
4:26
Celtics - Magic I 2010 NBA Playoffs Game 1by PPTheZodiac7,331 views
da wizards used 2 make da playoffs every year after michael jordan left so stfu every 1 knoz them.they used 2 b 1 of da best nba teams
2muchswagg4ya 2 years ago
who was it that took that last 3pointer? what a dumbshit. there was still 8 seconds remaining.
xYouxGotx0wnedx 2 years ago
if it wasn't for michael jordan, the washington wizards would not even be a known team in the NBA. they suck. what a joke.
scir91 2 years ago
woo hoo go celtics!!
nessagonz3 2 years ago
9 sec left try an fade away 3pt ????
techexonline 2 years ago