Celtics look like top seed; Warriors rested for surging Jazz

Boston Celtics star Isaiah Thomas will be dealing with a swollen mouth and some lingering pain Tuesday night in Game 2 of a second-round series with the Washington Wizards, according to head coach Brad Stevens.

Need to know: Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas sat out practice Monday so he could visit the dentist and have the tooth he lost in Game 1 repaired.

The Game 2 victory in the Eastern Conference second-round series came on what would have been Chyna Thomas’ 23rd birthday if she hadn’t been killed in a auto crash on April 15.

What time does the Washington Wizards vs. Boston Celtics Game 2 Start? Washington routinely gets out to early first quarter leads, with the strong play of the starters, and Game 2 was no different.

Washington led by as many as 14 in the third and still had an 87-75 lead with just over 4 minutes left before Boston scored nine of the next 11 points to end the quarter.

Wall made 7-of-10 shots and set-up 15 points in assists in the first quarter as the Wizards too advantage of nine Boston turnovers while making none in building the 13-point first-round edge, their largest lead of the first half. Markieff Morris had 16 points, Marcin Gortat totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Bradley Beal also scored 14.

He scored a playoff career-high 53 points, the second-highest scoring game in Celtics playoff history, trailing the great John Havlicek who scored 54 points on April 1, 1973.

Boston Celtics star Isaiah Thomas dedicated his stunning, match-winning performance against the Washington Wizards to his late sister Chyna, who was tragically killed in a vehicle accident last month and would have turned 23 on Tuesday.

Wizards guard John Wall tallied 40 points and 13 assists during the Game 2 effort in Boston. Stevens told him that he did not have to play, but that was never in question.

“She would have been 23 today, so the least I can do is go out there and play for her”, Thomas said.

Washington got a final possession with 14 seconds left, but a Wall isolation followed by a Bradley Beal airball from 12 feet pushed the game to OT.

Back on May 3, 2002, the Celtics made 19 3-pointers in a 120-87 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers that clinched a best-of-five playoff series.

“We believed in each other and we wanted each other to prove people wrong”, Stephen Jackson said, then added of the current Warriors, “They’re way past believin'”. Washington opened Game 1 on a 16-0 run. “Two teams played their hearts out”.

“We just gotta do a better job of making things hard for these guys”.

“I know it was for her”, said Boston’s Avery Bradley who grew up in the same Tacoma, Washington neighborhood as Thomas.

The first half started rough, with neither team taking command of the game enough to warrant the lead. “They were just the more aggressive team hitting a lot of threes and getting to the basket”.