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John Wall saves Wizards in final seconds, 92-91: 3 Game 6 takeaways

By John Buhler

May 12, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) makes the game winning three-point field goal over Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) in the final seconds of the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 92-91, and tied the series at 3-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) makes the game winning three-point field goal over Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) in the final seconds of the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 92-91, and tied the series at 3-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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John Wall nails a ridiculous 3-pointer with three seconds left to force a Game 7 with the Boston Celtics. Here are the three takeaways from Game 6.

Game 6 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals between the No. 1 Boston Celtics and the No. 4 Washington Wizards was arguably the best game of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. The Wizards hold serve at home in Game 6, as star point guard John Wall drains the biggest shot in his life to force Game 7 on Monday night in Boston.

This has been a highly competitive series, one where the home team has won all six games. The winner of Game 7 on Monday night in Boston will have the tremendous luxury of dealing with the buzzsaw that is LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Wizards’ huge Game 6 win over the Celtics:

Takeaways

That last 90 seconds made the NBA Playoffs worthwhile. It happened so fast, but wasn’t it spectacular? We all kind of knew that Washington was going to make a late run in this game, as the Wizards seem to find another gear offensively in the fourth quarter of home games. However, it looked like Boston was going to steal a victory down in the nation’s capital to end this series a game early.

Instead, what we got was one great possession after another inside of the two-minute mark. Bradley Beal, Al Horford, and Isaiah Thomas would all hit impressive shots that could have ultimately decided it. Of course, it came down to the most physically gifted player on the court in Wall to deliver the dagger to the Celtics from the Wizards.

In the pace-and-space era of the NBA, this was a lower scoring game at 92-9. Neither club shot the ball particularly well from beyond the arc. Boston was 31.4 percent from distance, while Washington was only 20.8 percent from downtown. While this game will be remembered for Wall’s late three, poor shooting from distance certainly made it closer. Close games will always be better than blowouts.

It was Boston’s bench that let the Celtics down. While Washington is constantly jabbed at for having an atrocious bench, it was Boston’s second unit that really let the Celtics down. Yes, Horford, Thomas and Avery Bradley were sensational for the Celtics in Game 6, their bench was worse than Washington’s.

Okay. Washington’s still was still really bad, but that’s just part of the Wizards’ season-long narrative. They win with their starters and everybody knows that. What ruined Boston was that nobody else besides Jae Crowder did much of anything to complement Bradley, Horford and Thomas offensively.

Brad Stevens played a nine-man rotation and garnered a grand total of five points from the bench. Even Washington got 13 from its bench players in Scott Brooks’ 10-man rotation. Ian Mahinmi was more productive in 15 minutes with six points and three rebounds than any non-starter for the Celtics.

This series deserved to go seven games. Monday night will be the second Game 7 of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. The No. 5 Utah Jazz were able to knock off the No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center in a Game 7 rout in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

While that series probably needed to go seven games, this one between budding rivals in the Celtics and Wizards absolutely did. These two teams are really starting to hate each other. They’re showing up to games in all-black to symbolize funeral attire. It’s melodramatic, but highly entertaining.

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Barring a third straight NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, this might be the last Game 7 of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. While the home team has won ever game between these two Eastern rivals this season, let’s just hope that Game 7 is as exciting as Game 6 ended up being.

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