That’s all for now. Thanks as always for following along with us. Here’s the report off tonight’s game.
Updated
Final: Wizards 105-115 Celtics
And there’s the final buzzer. Boston will host Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals this week!
Wizards 105-114 Celtics; 21.1, fourth quarter
John Wall misses another three and this is going to be it.
Wizards 103-112 Celtics; 1.01, fourth quarter
A nightmarish end to the season for John Wall, who’s missed his last nine attempts from the floor as Washington’s fortunes slipped during the second half. It’s not done and dusted just yet, but the Celtics are sitting pretty on a double-digit lead with 61 seconds left.
Wizards 100-110 Celtics; 3.25, fourth quarter
Kelly Olynyk’s dream night continues! He scores on a put-back, then follows it up with a three-pointer that extends Boston’s lead to 110-100. He’s having the game of his life and it could hardly have come at a more important time: 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting with four rebounds and four assists.
This probably shouldn't be happening with 3:30 left in a Game 7. pic.twitter.com/DhazZlEMD1
— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) May 16, 2017
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Wizards 97-103 Celtics; 5.28, fourth quarter
These teams are trading haymakers from long range. Olynyk hits a 19-footer, but Beal answers with a three. Olynyk responds with another three, then Beal converts a rare four-point play! That cuts Boston’s lead to 101-97, but Olynyk puts down another to make it 103-97. Gripping stuff!
Wizards 88-94 Celtics; 8.56, fourth quarter
Quick baskets by Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat cut the deficit to single digits and Washington are right back in it. Then Markieff Morris bangs a three-pointer from the top of the key. Seven unanswered points on three baskets ... and John Wall assisted on all three.
Wizards 81-94 Celtics; 10.00, fourth quarter
The Celtics have picked up where they left off at the end of the third quarter. Buckets from Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder and a lengthy three-pointer from Isaiah Thomas have blown open this game. The Celtics lead by 13 and the Wizards have come unglued. John Wall has missed his last six shots. Do Washington have one final push left in them?
Wizards 79-85 Celtics; end of third quarter
Isaiah Thomas! He’s poured in Boston’s last eight points as the Celtics have come roaring from behind to take an 82-79 lead. Now it’s another three-pointer from Marcus Smart and it feels like the roof could come off this place! The Celtics have used a 13-3 run to take a six-point lead as the buzzer sounds to end the third quarter. Thomas leads the Celts with 24 points on 7-for-15 shooting, while Beal still paces the Wizards with 26 points (on 8-for-15 from the floor).
Wizards 76-74 Celtics; 2.58, third quarter
Beal sticks a three-pointer from the elbow, his sixth consecutive made field-goal attempt, to stretch Washington’s lead to 76-72. He’s got a game-high 23 points on 7-for-12 from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 from the line. But Horford responds with a muscular post move that cuts it to two. A break in play for a TV timeout.
Wizards 72-72 Celtics; 5.01, third quarter
Just when it seemed like the Wizards had wrested momentum, the Celtics roar back with an 8-2 run capped by an acrobatic Jaylen Brown up-and-under off a gorgeous feed from Marcus Smart to knot the score at 72 apiece.
Wizards 70-64 Celtics; 6.52, third quarter
Beal, who opens the third-quarter scoring with an 18-footer, is starting to catch fire for the Wizards. He’s made his last five shots and has lifted his total to a game-high 20 points. John Wall (18 points) is also shining for the Wizards. He’s made a 25-foot three and a transition lay-up since half-time as Washington has made six of seven attempts from the floor to extend their lead to 70-64.
John Wall does not want to go home. He now has 18 PTS in Game 7 on @NBAonTNT.#DCFamily pic.twitter.com/PwkjPIialo
— NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2017
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Half-time: Wizards 55-53 Celtics
A late spurt by Washington sends the Wizards into the locker room with the lead despite trailing for most of the first half. Bradley Beal is leading the way for the visitors with a game-high 14 points ahead of John Wall (13 points, four assists) and Otto Porter Jr. For the hosts, it’s Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Olynyk leading with a team-high 12 points apiece.
The Celtics only got five points from their bench in Friday’s Game 6 loss. They’re getting 19 from the reserves tonight and it’s only half-time.
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Wizards 45-46 Celtics; 2.49, second quarter
Otto Porter, who went scoreless for only the second time all season in Game 6, has already racked up 12 points and seven rebounds in the first half tonight.
Wizards 36-42 Celtics; 5.50, second quarter
The teams trade baskets until a highlight-reel drive and score by John Wall cuts Boston’s lead to 34-33. The Celtics then strike quickly with an Isaiah Thomas bucket, followed by a Terry Rozier steal off the inbounds pass and a Jae Crowder lay-up.
Two quick buckets for the @celtics! 💥💥 #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/OF2TWriCmM
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 16, 2017
That makes it 38-33 to Boston and sends the room into hysterics. Washington’s Bojan Bogdanovic hits a much-needed three to silence the crowd and cut it to 38-36, but a Horford lay-up extends it once more. Then Avery Bradley makes a pair that brings it to 42-36 at the under-six TV timeout.
Updated
Wizards 25-31 Celtics; 10.11, second quarter
John Wall starts the second quarter on the bench as the first unit has a puff. Porter converts a tip-in to open the scoring, but the Celtics get a quick one from Jae Crowder followed by a wide-open Kelly Olynyk lay-up that makes it 31-25 and prompts a quick timeout from Washington coach Scott Brooks.
Wizards 23-27 Celtics; end of first quarter
Jaylen Brown makes a pair of foul shots to open a 24-17 and extend Boston’s 7-0 run, but Beal answers with a pair of free throws to cut the lead to five. Notably, Boston’s Amir Johnson has just been whistled for his third personal foul. Something to keep an eye on. Now Bojan Bogdanovic makes a pair and Markieff Morris cans a six-footer and Boston’s lead has been cut to 24-23. But Kelly Olynyk closes the quarter with three-point play and the Celtics will lead 27-23 at the first-quarter buzzer.
Updated
Wizards 17-22 Celtics; 1.58, first quarter
Crowder scores on a nifty pass from Horford and it’s a 7-0 run for the Celtics. Washington can’t buy a bucket, chucking up brick after brick. But they finally connect on a short jumper from Otto Porter Jr followed by a Markieff Morris three. Now Bradley Beal converts an old-fashioned three-point play and the Wizards have rattled off eight straight to tie the score at 10-all. And now a transition dunk by John Wall off a turnover extends the 10-0 run and gives Washington their first lead of the game. Four Boston turnovers have led to seven Wizards’ points so far. Al Horford snaps the run with a three-pointer followed by an Isaiah Thomas lay-up, putting Boston ahead 15-12. The teams trade baskets for a stretch but a quick five-point burst by the Celtics, on a Kelly Olynyk driving lay-up and a Jaylen Brown three-pointer, extend the lead to 22-17. The hosts are shooting a blistering 53.3% so far, compared to 38.9% for the Wizards.
Wizards 2-8 Celtics; 8.51, first quarter
A bit of a nervy start for both sides, which is to be expected given the stakes. Horford and Gortat both short on their opening attempts. Thomas opens the scoring, drawing a foul while shooting a three and making all three shots. Markieff Morris scores in the paint for the Wizards, but Boston responds with a Horford basket and an Avery Bradley three-pointer that prompts an immediate time-out from Washington coach Scott Brooks.
The starters are on the court. The noise in the arena is at an ear-splitting pitch. The ball is tossed ... and we’re under way in Boston!
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Tonight’s starting lineups
Here’s a look at tonight’s starters.
Washington Wizards
Wall, Beal, Porter, Morris, Gortat
Boston Celtics
Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, Johnson, Horford
The TD Garden was a sea of green earlier today. It’s only crazier right now with a sellout crowd having taken their positions. Not much longer now.
Hello and welcome to tonight’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards. Historical trends might favor the top-seeded Celtics in tonight’s winner-take-all contest. Home teams are 101-26 in Game 7s throughout NBA history and Boston’s home court has proven even more of a fortress with the Celts going 18-4 in seventh games at home.
There’s also the fact that all 10 meetings between the Celtics and Wizards this season have been won by the home team: four in the regular season and all six in this series so far.
But all that is merely prelude for tonight’s one-off, where the winner will earn a date with the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers for a shot at playing in this year’s NBA finals.
Plenty more to come including the starting line-ups with tip-off roughly a half hour from now.
Bryan will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s how the Spurs and Warriors got on yesterday:
Stephen Curry scored 40 points and hit a tying three-pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the Golden State Warriors rallied from way down after Kawhi Leonard was lost to an ankle injury to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-111 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Draymond Green gave Golden State the lead for good on a three-point play after the Warriors trailed by as many as 25 points. Leonard left in the third quarter after he re-injured his left ankle, and the Warriors capitalized with an 18-0 run.
Kevin Durant scored 10 straight points during a key fourth-quarter stretch on the way to 34 points, while Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and nine rebounds. Leonard had 26 points and eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge delivered another clutch playoff performance with 28 points and eight boards.
Somehow, these unusually careless, cold-shooting Warriors found a way to keep their unblemished postseason record alive at 9-0.Curry scored 19 points in the third quarter and went 7 for 16 on 3s and 14 of 26 overall.
