John Wall Joins Elite Club with Impressive 2-Way Playoff Performance
Washington Wizards point guard John Wall finished with 27 points, 12 assists, five steals, three rebounds and one block during Sunday's 121-102 Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics.
With the performance, he joined the likes of Russell Westbrook, Allen Iverson and Gary Payton as the only players to total 25 points, 10 assists and five steals in a postseason game, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Wall started off the game by missing his first nine shots from the field but never lost confidence, drilling eight of his final 14 attempts. The performance came during a crucial Game 4, with the Wizards down in the series 2-1. Ultimately, the star floor general led a 26-0 run in the third quarter to fuel the victorious effort.
Not only did the 26-year-old join the ranks of Westbrook, Payton and Iverson with Sunday's effort, he also added to his own playoff record. Wall has recorded 10 consecutive playoff outings this year with at least 20 points and seven assists, the most in a single postseason, per ESPN. Michael Jordan—who totaled eight straight 20-point, seven-assist games in one playoff run—sits second.
It's impressive, but maybe not surprising, that the four-time All-Star and 2014-15 All-Defensive selection would record such an imposing stat line against the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Each year since the 2014-15 season, Wall has improved his points, assists and steals per game, as well as his free-throw percentage.
Appropriately nicknamed "Optimus Dime," Wall is dishing a league-high 11.1 assists per contest this postseason along with his 28.8 points and 2.2 steals. He also led the playoffs in assists per game (11.9) during the 2014-15 postseason.
Wall and the Wizards will look to earn the first road win of the series when they face off against Celtics on Wednesday for Game 5.
