Boston rallies in fourth to derail Washington
The perfect storm had developed at Verizon Center, where the Washington Wizards were ready to exorcise nearly two years of misery and finally earn a three-game winning streak for the first time in eight tries.
The Boston Celtics, one night after a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, seemed ready to oblige with a defeat, allowing 23 points off a fatigue-induced 17 turnovers.
But they weren’t the team that ran out of gas. Instead, the Wizards (16-31) fizzled, hitting two of 18 shots in the final quarter of a demoralizing 99-88 defeat.
Six different players scored in double figures for the Celtics (30-16), led by 19 points from Kevin Garnett and 17 apiece from Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo (12 assists).
Paul Pierce had 11 of his 12 points in the first quarter, including seven during a 12-2 run that gave the Celtics an early 19-8 lead.
But after nearly forcing Caron Butler (20 points, 11 rebounds) into his third turnover in the first 10 minutes, Pierce was left clutching his ankle after being undercut when Butler dove to recover his lost ball.
The Wizards scored 12 of the last 16 points of the first, with Earl Boykins (14 points) using his veteran savvy to draw a foul by Eddie House that allowed him to cut the Boston lead to 24-23.
With Boykins continuing to work over House with pump fakes and steals, Washington’s bench went on a 13-0 run to go back in front and scored the Wizards’ first 15 points of the second quarter. Nick Young’s back-to-back jumpers gave Washington its biggest lead of the half, 45-36.
Allen hit his first 3-pointer of the night to pull Boston back to within one, 47-46, but Butler turned the tide, poking the ball away from Pierce and earning two free throws for a 54-48 halftime lead.
Boston shot 64 percent in the third quarter to keep the pressure on Washington, but it looked like fortune might finally favor the hapless Wizards, despite a 2-of-17 night for Antawn Jamison, when Butler scrambled in the corner and hit a 3-pointer for a 78-70 lead. But Butler didn’t hit a shot from the field in the final quarter.
