The Washington Wizards hosted the Boston Celtics on Friday night at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington. With Boston leading the series 3-2 it was time for a crucial Game 6 of their second-round playoff matchup.
After suffering a tough loss in Game 5 and with their season on the line, the Wizards were facing elimination on Friday night and wanted to leave it all on the court and force a deciding Game 7 on the road. The crowd of more than 20,000 fans at the Verizon Center recognized the moment and made sure their team got the much-needed support.
Entering Friday's matchup each team had won their home games of the series so far.
Wall hits the game-winning shot
It was a tightly contested game from the beginning. Washington opened up the game with a 16-11 lead midway through the first period. The score was 22-17 for the home team after the first quarter. Boston rallied back with a 11-6 run early in the second quarter and tied the game at 28-28.
After trailing 40-30 late in the period, the Celtics closed out the first half with a 12-1 run and held a 42-41 lead at halftime. Boston's biggest lead of the game was six point midway through the third quarter, but they couldn't pull away.
Heading into the final period of the game the Celtics had a 69-66 lead.
Teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter, and with 2 minutes left to play in the game, the score was tied at 82-82. When Al Horford scored a mid-range jumper to give the Celtics 91-89 lead with 7 seconds left in the game, it looked like the game was over. On the ensuing possession, John Wall had the ball in his hands and decided to shoot a potential game-winning three-pointer.
He rose for the shot and connected from behind the arc to give the Wizards a 92-91 lead with 1.7 seconds left on the clock. With 1.7 seconds left, Isaiah Thomas missed a tough 3-point shot for Boston, and the Wizards survived with a 92-91 victory in Game 6. Washington outrebounded the Celtics 46-37 in this one and held them to just 40.5% shooting from the field.
The Wizards were just 5-for-24 from the three-point line and 13-for-21 from the free-throw line.
Beal and Wall carry the load again
Only three players scored in double-digits for Washington on Friday night. Bradley Beal led all scorers with 33 points and added five assists. John Wall added 26 points and dished out eight assists while Markieff Morris scored 16 and pulled down 11 rebounds.
For the Celtics Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley each scored 27 points. Thomas added seven assists as well. Al Horford contributed with 20 points and six rebounds while Jae Crowder added 10 points and eight assists.
The series is now tied at 3-3 with Game 7 scheduled for Monday night at Boston. The Wizards will play in a Game 7 for the first time since the 1979 Eastern Conference Finals. Washington is 6-3 all-time in Game 7 while Boston is 21-8.
