Posted on May 13, 2017, by Travis Pulver
Houston Rockets fans have just one question for James Harden. It doesn’t have anything to do with why he was so bad against the Spurs Thursday night—well, not directly at least. The question has to do with Game Six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics.
Hey, James—did you see what John Wall did? That’s how a real superstar plays. He isn’t perfect. He isn’t always on. But when it comes down to it, he figures out how to come through for his team when he’s needed most.
Via @MonSportsNet
Wall—like Harden–had a pretty bad start to his game. He made only one of his first 12 shots, but—unlike Harden–he was able to recover from his horrific start. When the Wizards needed him to come through in the clutch for them—he did.
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A close, hard-fought game found the Celtics up by three entering the final quarter. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the remaining minutes of the game with neither gaining a distinct advantage. But when Al Horford gave the Celtics a 91-89 lead with seven seconds to play, it would appear the end was near for the Wizards.
It should have been—but John Wall wanted to play another game, so he hit a 26-foot three-pointer with 3.5 seconds on the clock to put the Wizards up by one, 92-91. The win was the first by a home team facing elimination during the postseason this year.
“All we asked for was one more game,” Wall said after the game, “and we got it.”
So much for the funeral, the Celtics predicted when they wore all black to the arena much like the Wizards did before a regular season game against the Celtics in January.
“It was just funny to me. It was kind of copy-catting what we did,” said Wall. “It was in my mind throughout the game that I didn’t want them to come here, wear all black, and basically call it a funeral.”
Jae Crowder admitted that the all-black dress code was planned, but everyone else tried to play stupid. Isaiah Thomas actually tried to claim it was just a coincidence that the whole team wore all black to the game.
“I guess so,” Thomas said. “Call it what you want.”
Wall made the most important shot of the night, but it was Bradley Beal that led the way for the Wizard with 33 points. Wall ended the night with 26 points, and Markieff Morris chipped in 16. Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas led the way for Boston with 27 points each.
Via @sportingnews
The Cleveland Cavaliers—and the rest of the NBA-loving free world—will have to wait until Game Seven Monday night (at 8 PM ET on TNT) to find out who the other team in the Eastern Conference Finals will be.
It will be the first time since 1979 that the Wizards have played in a Game Seven since 1979. Boston has played in 30.
If the Wizards really want to kick this budding rivalry into overdrive, maybe they should wear black to the game, Monday night.