This is clearly not the Wizards' season. After a Jae Crowder go-ahead bucket, John Wall had the chance to send the game to overtime, but one of the best finishers in the league inexplicably missed on an easy layup.
John Wall misses easy layup at the buzzer to save Celtics from themselves
That was a crazy ending in Washington.
Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
That has to hurt for Washington, but to be fair, the game was only that close because Boston made some really terrible mistakes late, something that has been a problem all season long.
The Celtics were up four after Avery Bradley hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds to go. One good defensive possession and the game was theirs. That's when they almost fell apart.
Amir Johnson fouled Wall on a three-point attempt and Crowder got a technical after Wall missed the first free throw. Gary Neal hit the technical, Wall hit the other two and the Wizards were down one. They then fouled Isaiah Thomas who hit his two free throws to get the lead back to three.
Marcus Smart tried to take a charge on a Wall drive and was called for a foul. Wall hit a couple of free throws with 15 seconds to go, and Kelly Oubre smartly fouled Amir Johnson once the second shot was up instead of waiting for the inbound to foul.
Johnson only hit one free throw and Smart once again made a mistake. He committed an offensive foul trying to get the rebound, allowing Garrett Temple to tie the game from the line. Then this happened.
Celtics' Jae Crowder hits game-winner, then Wizards' John Wall misses full-speed lay-up at buzzer in wild finish pic.twitter.com/STlKBsLZtG
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 17, 2016 The Nene putback was waived and the Celtics won a game that both teams did their best to lose.
