Thomas lights up Wizards as Celtics win 3rd straight, 116-91

The Celtics have gone undefeated in at least four games against the Wizards during a season twice – 4-0 in 2011-12 and 6-0 in 1981-82. That was not the case however as the Celtics blew out the Wizards, 116-91 for their third straight win.

The storm and snow in the area yielded a small crowd of just over 9,000 people, (which may have been an overstatement) and fans who had seats in the upper 200 level sections were invited to secure open seats in the inner ring once the second half had started.

Nerlens Noel had 12 points, and Jahlil Okafor had 10.

GRIZZLIES 108, MAGIC 102, OT: Jeff Green scored a season-high 30 points, Memphis converted enough free throws in an extra period and the Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic 108-102 in overtime Monday night. Isaiah Thomas only recorded 28 minutes but was still able to contribute 23 points and 9 assists.

HAWKS 119, NUGGETS 105: Paul Millsap scored 22 points, Al Horford had 18 and the Atlanta Hawks completed their Western Conference road trip with a 119-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards were affected by the snowstorm that gripped the East Coast. That’s huge, especially considering the Wizards struggled shooting tonight as well.

Bradley Beal had a rough first half. He finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and was a plus-20. Other than that, points were scattered everywhere, with no noticeable impact from anyone else. Scoring was all over for the Wizards.

Over the past three games, the Celtics own a defensive rating of 89.5. Boston’s starters got a lot of rest once again and as a result didn’t have a huge impact until near the end of the quarter. Their fast-break offense? Nowhere to be found. Boston held the Wizards to just 16 fast-break points, only five of which came in the second half. Things started to get ugly as Boston led 84-70 going into the fourth quarter. There seemed to be no play development, and that’s really what the team did well as of late.

A day after the blizzard, the Sixers were buried by the Celtics.

But Wall, like the rest of his Wizards teammates, was ineffective on Monday night. During their last meeting, Wall was the Celtic killer and stopped any little run they had, but not tonight.

The Celtics forced 20 turnovers for the third straight game and pieced together an impressive feat: limiting Washington to 7-for-24 shooting from behind the arc while also holding the Wizards to just 24 points in the paint. It’s a great testament to their depth. It’s a reminder of what these Celtics are capable of when they play to their potential.

With back-to-back blowout wins under their belts after an odd stretch of travel on a road trip, the Celtics flew back to Boston four games over.500.

The Celtics have won all three games that the sides have met in this season and the Wizards will be desperate to turn that around and avoid the sweep. They flat out dominated them all season long, and quite frankly, they should be glad the season series is over with.

That all hammers home the notion that the Celtics have played some excellent two-way basketball over these past three games, but the quality play dates back even further. If Boston plays the way they have been during these past three games they will have a good chance of winning all three games.

Washington stumbled after hanging with the Celtics (25-21) in the first half.