Wizards at Celtics
The Washington Wizards jumped out to a big lead early in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals but quickly fell off the pace and now find themselves in an early hole in the best-of-seven series. The top-seeded Boston Celtics don't intend to let the Wizards out of that hole and will try to dig a little deeper when they host Game 2 on Tuesday.
Washington jumped out to a 16-0 lead and was ahead 38-24 at the end of the first quarter but watched that lead evaporate in the second quarter and disappear entirely in the third as it was outscored 71-42 in the middle two periods. "It seems like every game we're having one of those quarters when we don't play well," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "(Sunday) was definitely that third quarter. They did a great job of putting ball pressure and getting into us, and we did not do a good job of handling that. Lose the third quarter by 20 points, it's tough to make up." The Celtics used that ball pressure to drive into the lane and kick the ball out to open shooters while going 19-of-39 from 3-point range. Center Al Horford hit one 3-pointer as part of a 10-of-13 afternoon and helped direct the attack while finishing just shy of a triple-double with 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE WIZARDS: Washington lost a big piece when starting power forward Markieff Morris went down in the first half of Game 1 with an ankle injury after landing on Al Horford's foot while drawing a foul. "He was in a lot of pain," star point guard John Wall, who collected 20 points and 16 assists in the loss, told reporters. "We were just hoping it wasn't his knee. He has an issue kind of spraining his ankles all the time, but we told him, 'if you don't shoot the free throw you can't come back in,' and he was just trying to get his space and take as much time as he needed." Morris, who hit the free throw before leaving the game, insisted after the contest that he would play Game 2 but others were skeptical after he was seen noticeably limping and reportedly struggled to put on his shoe over the swollen left ankle.
ABOUT THE CELTICS: Boston star Isaiah Thomas flew home to Tacoma, Wash., on Saturday for his sister's funeral and flew back across the country in time for the game, during which he delivered 33 points. "I mean, it's tough but it's the playoffs," Thomas told reporters. There's no excuses. I decided to play and I just tried to give it all I got for my team, and we came out with the win." Thomas, who had a tooth knocked out after running into an elbow early in Game 1, added nine assists and buried five of the Celtics' 19 3-pointers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics SF Jae Crowder went 6-of-8 from 3-point range in Game 1 after shooting 27.3 percent from beyond the arc in the first round.
2. Washington SG Bradley Beal scored 27 points on Sunday and is averaging 29.3 in the last four games.
3. Boston's SG combo of Avery Bradley (four) and Marcus Smart (three) combined for seven steals.