The Washington Wizards knotted up their best-of-seven set against the Boston Celtics at two games apiece with Sunday’s 121-102 victory. And while a series deadlock isn’t typically time for bravado, John Wall was feeling himself, and his team, afterward.
As the All-Star point guard said, per SI.com’s Ben Golliver:
Wizards' John Wall after squaring series with Celtics: "We feel like we're in control. We have the momentum. We feel like we can win there." pic.twitter.com/bm4SgI1GHT
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 8, 2017
There’s nothing actually wrong with Wall’s evaluation of his team. I mean, for starters, what else is he supposed to see? “Crap, I don’t know. We’re probably not gonna win Game 5. Or maybe we will. It’s close. The Celtics are good, and probably better than us.” That was never happening.
Mostly, though, the Wizards have every reason to be feeling good about themselves. Not only did they trounce the Celtics despite missing Kelly Oubre Jr., who was suspended for attempting the spine-buster on Kelly Olynyk in Game 3, but they’ve now held double-digit leads in all four tilts for this series.
That’s a staggering factoid considering, again, they’re tied up at two games apiece entering Tuesday’s contest. The Celtics are, frankly, beyond lucky to be in this position at all. They’ve been outscored by 45 points through four first quarters; the only time they weren’t forced to climb out of a substantial hole was in Game 4, when they actually won the opening frame, before proceeding to cave at the start of the third quarter.
As we found out in Round 1, when they fell behind 2-0 versus the Chicago Bulls, the Celtics can pop at any moment. And they remain much deeper than the Wizards. But if you’re Wall, or any other member of the Wizards, it’s hard not to feel like you control your own destiny at this point.
