Wizards spoil Celtics’ holiday
BOSTON — Bradley Beal scored 25 points, John Wall had 21 points and 14 assists, and the Washington Wizards beat Boston, 111-103, Monday at TD Garden in the Celtics’ first Christmas Day home game in franchise history.
Otto Porter Jr. added 20 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 16, helping Washington take the first meeting between the teams since Boston’s Game 7 victory at home in the second round of the playoffs in the spring.
Eastern Conference-leading Boston lost for the third time in four games. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum each scored 20 points for the Celtics,and Terry Rozier had 16.
Boston opened a 95-90 lead on Irving’s 3-pointer with 6:18 left, but the Wizards responded with a 12-0 run. Beal capped the spurt with a three-point play and a breakaway dunk off a turnover.
Wall added a layup and two free throws down the stretch to help Washington hold on for the win.
Last season, the teams had a testy rivalry with lots of trash-talking and a few games filled with hard fouls. It was more civil Monday, just a tight defensive game with numerous contested shotsand a few hard screens.
The Wizards led by two at halftime and opened the third by scoring 13 of the first 17 points, pulling ahead, 65-54, on Marcin Gortat’s three-point play. Gortat had 11 points and 10 rebounds.