John Wall has become the first ever Washington Wizards player to put up at least 37 points to go along with 10 rebounds in a postseason game.
The Wizards guard scored 40 points on 16-of-32 shooting from the field in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics. He as well had 13 assists in 47 minutes of action given by coach Scott Brooks.
John Wall is the first player in @WashWizards franchise history with 37+ points and 10+ assists in an #NBAPlayoffs game. pic.twitter.com/Gg3TPRpCqk
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 3, 2017
The 26-year-old's huge performance wasn't enough to see his time end on the winning side at the TD Garden on Tuesday.
Boston took a 129-119 overtime win over the team from D.C. The Celtics now have a 2-0 lead over the Wizards as the series is set to move on to the nation's capital.
The leader of the team shows up
isaiah thomas of the Celtics has become the team's fifth player ever to score at least 50 points in an NBA playoff game. Also, the first one since the days of three-point legend Ray Allen, who scored 51 points back in 2009.
Guard Thomas had a night to remember, posting 53 points on 18-of-33 shooting from the field. Thomas, the leader of the Celtic team, came up big to help his team come closer to reaching the finals in the East.
Isaiah Thomas is the 5th #Celtics player with 50+ points in the #NBAPlayoffs & first since Ray Allen (51) in 2009. pic.twitter.com/Ch1H0Ms4mz
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 3, 2017
Prior to the game on Tuesday, Thomas had a couple of 30+ point games this offseason.
Just short..
No player has scored more than 55 points in the postseason since Allen Iverson's playoff performance 14 years ago in 2003 when he scored 55.
Isaiah Thomas' 53 point performance is the second best scoring performance since the Iverson one. The Celtics guard fell three points short of having a better scoring performance than Iverson.
Isaiah Thomas' 53 points are the most in an #NBAPlayoffs game since Allen Iverson scored 55 in 2003. pic.twitter.com/fO3Z9SFwMq
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 3, 2017
How great of a performance it was from both players
John Wall and Isaiah Thomas are now the first opposing players to score 40+ against each other in a postseason clash since Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant.
Back in 2011, the Dallas Mavericks were battling the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals. Germany's Nowitzki scored 48 points for Dallas while superstar Durant had 40 points in Game 1 of their series.
Isaiah and Wall are the first opposing players with 40+ points against each other in an #NBAPlayoffs game since Dirk (48) & KD (40) in 2011. pic.twitter.com/m5W98gOUeT
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 3, 2017
In the end, it was Thomas who will be having sweeter memories of Tuesday's Game 2 between Boston and Washington.
It was a great opening to the game
The Wizards have set their new record for the most points scored in the opening quarter of an NBA playoff game.
Washington scored 42 points in the first quarter of Game 2 against Boston.
The 42 points scored gave them a double-digit lead over the Celtics 42-29.
The @WashWizards 42 points is their highest scoring 1st quarter in #NBAPlayoffs franchise history. #DCFamily pic.twitter.com/V2nft0RJhW
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 3, 2017
After a great opening to the game, Washington didn't manage to collect more than 25 points in a quarter in the last three-quarters of the game.
