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Wizards erase early deficit, beat Celtics

Dec 21, 2013 - 11:39 PM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Trevor Ariza scored a game-high 27 points and the Washington Wizards earned a 106-99 come-from-behind win over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

The Wizards, who had dropped seven in a row against Boston, outscored the Celtics by a 22-7 margin over the final six minutes to pull out the victory.

"Down the stretch we executed and we got stops and that's what you have to do," Wizards head coach Randy Wittman said. "I told these guys I'm really seeing some growth here and we just got to keep it going."

John Wall filled the box score with 20 points, nine assists and six steals, while Marcin Gortat, Kevin Seraphin and Nene each chipped in with 13 points for the Wizards, winners of three straight following a four-game skid.

Boston squandered an 18-point lead despite getting 26 points from Avery Bradley and double-doubles from Jared Sullinger and Brandon Bass. Sullinger totaled 22 points and 11 rebounds while Bass added 11 and 11 in the loss.

For the second straight game the Celtics lit up the scoreboard in the first quarter, shooting 12-of-20 (60 percent) from the field as they jumped out to a 30-14 lead.

But like Wednesday's game against the Pistons, when they blew a 21-point lead, the Celtics let the Wizards inch back in it.

Washington cut its deficit to 51-44 at halftime and pulled even at 74-74 on a Martell Webster 3-pointer in the final minute of the third.

Bradley ended the quarter with a jumper, then scored on Boston's first four possessions of the fourth quarter to keep the Celtics in front.

A Jeff Green layup had the Celtics on top, 92-84, with 6:14 remaining, but the Wizards answered with 14 of the next 15 points. Wall hit a 3-pointer during the flurry, drained a pull-up jumper to give Washington its first lead, 95-93, and assisted on Ariza's 3-pointer the next time down.

Jordan Crawford turned the ball over on two of Boston's next three possessions, and the Wizards made all six of their free throw attempts over the final minute to seal the comeback win.

"They played a great game. Finished it off strong, made plays, and we didn't," Crawford said.

Game Notes

The Celtics ended their homestand with a 2-3 record ... Washington had 23 fastbreak points to Boston's 13 ... Green scored 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting ... Ariza shot 5-of-8 from behind the arc.