Isaiah Thomas Outduels John Wall as Celtics Beat Wizards, Take 2-0 Series Lead

The NBA second round playoff series between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards is a showcase of two of the top point guards in the NBA in John Wall of Washington and Isaiah Thomas of Boston. The two teams played Game 2 of their series in Boston on May 2nd, with the Celtics holding a 1-0 lead in best of seven series.

Early on in the game, it was Wall and the Wizards who held the spotlight. Washington exploded out of the gate, scoring 42 points, 19 by Wall, in the first quarter and held a 13 point lead. Thomas scored 15 of the Celtics’ 29 first quarter points. The Celtics closed to within three points and trailed 67-64 at halftime, and Washington held an 89-84 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Then Thomas turned on the after burners. He scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, including two on a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the score and send it to overtime. Thomas added nine more in the extra period to lead the Celtics to a 129-119 victory, and give Boston a 2-0 series lead.

Wall scored 40 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Thomas scored 53, one shy of the franchise record for a playoff game. Thomas played with sore mouth; he’s recovering from surgery to replace the tooth that was knocked out in Game 1. He’s also still mourning the loss of his sister, Chyna, in a car accident last month. May 2nd would have been her 23rd birthday.