Wizards Rout Celtics, Warriors Top Jazz to Highlight Thursday's NBA Playoffs
The second round of the NBA playoffs continued Thursday with a statement performance from the Washington Wizards and a double-digit victory for the two-time defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors.
Washington pulled to within 2-1 in its series against the Boston Celtics with a 116-89 win at the Verizon Center behind 24 points, eight assists and three steals from John Wall.
Golden State won the first quarter of its game 33-15 and put things on relative cruise control from there for a 115-104 win at Oracle Arena.
Here is a look at all the action.
| Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards | 116-89, WAS |
| Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors | 115-104, GS |
Wizards Defend Home Court
Wall stuffed the stat sheet, but he received plenty of help, with six Wizards scoring in double figures. Marcin Gortat (13 points and 16 rebounds) and Bojan Bogdanovic (19 points and 10 rebounds) each notched double-doubles, and Otto Porter Jr. added 19 points and solid defense with eight boards and three steals.
The Wizards also contained Isaiah Thomas after he torched them for 53 points in Game 2. Washington swarmed him for stretches, and he wasn't nearly as involved in the offense with 13 points on only eight field-goal attempts.
Given the blowout, the outcome took a backseat to the overall physicality between the Eastern Conference rivals.
Washington's Kelly Oubre was ejected after he shoved Kelly Olynyk to the ground following a hard screen and picked up a flagrant-2. Brandon Jennings and Terry Rozier were also ejected after double technicals.
Chris Forsberg of ESPN provided the technical leaderboard, while CSN Wizards looked ahead to the next game:
That Game 4 will also be in Washington D.C. on Sunday, and the Wizards will look to fight past any physicality to tie the series.
Warriors' Balance Too Much for Jazz
Utah deserves credit for hanging tough against the Warriors after Golden State steamrolled its way to an 18-point advantage through a quarter.
Still, Kevin Durant (25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists), Stephen Curry (23 points and seven assists) and Draymond Green (21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals) never gave the visitors much of a chance to steal a game even after the deficit fell to as little as six.
The Warriors simply had an answer for every run, even if it meant banking in threes from ridiculous angles:
ESPN Stats & Info put Golden State's sixth straight playoff win into perspective:
Gordon Hayward (33 points, five rebounds and four assists) and Rudy Gobert (16 points and 16 rebounds) impressed for the Jazz, especially since the team announced George Hill was out with big toe soreness.
Golden State had too much firepower for the Jazz on Thursday, but Utah will look to parlay any momentum it received from hanging tough in the final three quarters into a victory in Saturday's Game 3 at home.
