WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime on Thursday as the Boston Celtics edged the 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 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 third quarter with a five-point lead and stretched it to as many as 10 in the fourth.
But they needed three clutch free throws from Irving, who was fouled on a three-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 five of his 18 points for Boston in overtime, when the Celtics out-scored the Wizards 12-6 to finally put the game away.
His three-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 three. “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 five points, pulled down six 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.”
© Agence France-Presse