Celtics win ninth straight, 140-133, over Wizards

Kemba Walker was asked recently about his 3-point shooting, and the Celtics guard seemed a little irritated.

“Like, I’ve been doing this for a while,” he said.

And he should probably keep doing it a while longer, after hitting six 3-pointers last night in a 140-133 win over Washington that was the Celtics’ NBA-leading ninth straight.

Walker now has 14 3-pointers over his last two games, and 18 over his last three. He was one of three Celtics to break the 20-point mark Wednesday night, this time with 25, to go along with 23 from Jayson Tatum and 22 from Jaylen Brown.

Overall the Celtics shot at a wild 54.5% clip, including 45.5% from downtown (15-for-33) — numbers that were very necessary, considering that Wizards guard Bradley Beal kept Washington within reach for most of the night with a 44-point performance.

Enes Kanter got his first long run as a Celtic and finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Rookie Carsen Edwards, in an early season slump, broke out Wednesday with 18 points, including 4-for-5 3-point shooting.

The Celtics lost steam at a bad time, with Washington able to cut the Celtics’ lead from 17 points (131-114) with 5:29 left down to four (137-133) with 1:17 left.

But Walker stepped into his sixth three of the night with 1:07 left, ending the threat.

The Celtics flew into the fourth quarter shooting at a 53.6% clip — 44% (12-for-27) from downtown, including five from Walker — and they would need that pace, considering how well the Wizards were scoring.

Davis Bertans opened the fourth from 3-point range, cutting the Celtics lead to three points. The ensuing 10-0 Celtics run, with Edwards and Tatum combining for all the points,  pushed the lead back out to 13 points.

Beal led the next Washington comeback with five points in a 6-0 run. But Smart triggered an ensuing 11-2 burst with a pair of strips, first of Mo Wagner and then of Beal, with Edwards highlighting the run with his third trey and 15th point of the night.

Beal ended that with a 3-pointer, but Edwards answered with his fourth trey for  a 126-110 Celtics lead with 6:40 left.

The Celtics, not at their defensive best in the first half, opened the third quarter with a 68-66 lead, briefly lost it on Isaiah  Thomas’ third 3-pointer of the night, and then kicked out with their strongest move to that point.

Brown scored the first four points and last four in a 12-2 run that was good for an 80-71 lead with 9:04 left in the third. The Celtics then got traction via 3-pointers from Smart and Walker, the latter for an 88-77 lead.

Though the Wizards were shooting 50 percent at this stage, the Celtics had increased their pressure, and were scoring freely at a 58% clip down the other end.

The Celtics pushed their lead out as far as 90-77 on a Walker drive before the Wizards hit back with a 9-0 run that cut the Celtics lead to 90-86 on a Beal 3-pointer.

But Walker hit from downtown with his fifth trey of the night, and thanks to 3-pointers down the stretch from Semi Ojeleye and, again, Walker, the Celtics finished the third with a 102-96 lead.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/33XLhv6