Boston Celtics edge Washington Wizards in overtime

WASHINGTON, USA – Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime on Thursday, February 8, as the Boston Celtics edged the Washington Wizards 110-104 to maintain their hold on first place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

The Celtics bounced back from a loss to Toronto on Tuesday, February 6, to maintain a one-game lead over the Raptors atop the East.

But Boston didn’t make it easy on themselves.

Trailing at halftime, they emerged from a tight 3rd quarter with a 5-point lead and stretched it to as many as 10 in the fourth.

But they needed 3 clutch free throws from Irving, who was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all the foul shots to knot the score at 98-98 with  9.8 seconds left in regulation.

It went to overtime when Bradley Beal’s tough jump shot contested by Irving at the buzzer missed.

Jaylen Brown scored 5 of his 18 points for Boston in overtime, when the Celtics out-scored the Wizards 12-6 to finally put the game away.

His 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining put the Celtics up 108-103, and the Wizards wouldn’t get the deficit below four points from there.

“The shot clock was going down so I took my time and shot a shot that I’ve been practicing,” Brown said of the step-back 3. “I’ve been working on it a lot, and it showed itself in the game.”

Greg Monroe made his Celtics debut in the win after signing a one-year contract earlier in the day.

Monroe scored 5 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and handed out two assists in 20 minutes off the bench.

“I thought he did a really good job,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “And we’ll only get more used to playing with him.” – Rappler.com