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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Ah, that felt good. After six long years, the Wizards are finally back in the postseason and, in all likelihood, headed towards a winning season. The guys have already done a great job covering #WizardsPlayoffs from all angles, so I won't be as long-winded in this space as I usually.
Safe to say, the Wiz put a whoopin' on the Celtics. I guess they were a little angry about blowing that Bobcats game, eh? Boston never led in the game, while Washington led by as much as 33. The final 118-92 score didn't even capture fully how dominant the Wizards were in this one.
For the game, the Wiz shot 62.5 percent. (Yup.) They assisted on 29-of-45 field goals. They outrebounded the Celts 41-to-29. Bradley Beal went 7-for-8, scoring 19 points. Marcin Gortat shot 10-for-13 en route to a 22-point, eight-rebound night. John Wall only played 27 minutes and still finished with 13 points and 10 assists. Trevor Ariza had 18 points and seven rebounds. Trevor Booker scored 10 points. Andre Miller had eight assists and Al Harrington scored 12 off the bench.
Nene might be back in a week. Gortat did this (see below for more)!!
CELEBRATE!!
KEY LINKS
Road team recaps: BF StoryStream | Washington Post (gamer, sidebar, JReid column)| AP | CSN Washington (recap, sidebar) | Truth About It | Wiz of Awes | DC Pro Sports Report | Hoop District | District Sports Page | Ted's Take | Wizards.com | Monumental Network
Home team recaps: CelticsBlog | Boston Globe (gamer, sidebar) | Boston Herald (gamer, sidebar) | MassLive (recap, sidebar) | ESPN Boston | Hardwood Houdini | CelticsHub
Postgame interviews: Randy Wittman | John Wall | Bradley Beal | Marcin Gortat | Trevor Ariza | Al Harrington | Otto Porter | Brad Stevens | Rajon Rondo
KEY STATS
6 0 - Years since the Wizards have made the playoffs.
8 0 - Seasons spent as a head coach since Randy Wittman has guided a team to the playoffs.
TWEETS OF THE NIGHT
Yes. pic.twitter.com/hgoa9q15k7
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) April 3, 2014
Wizards are in the Playoffs! Washington beats Boston, 118-92, clinching 1st playoff berth since 2008. pic.twitter.com/SfeGNLtPzz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 3, 2014
— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) April 3, 2014
John is hugging Wittman. I'm holding back tears.
— Ben M (@BenAgent0) April 3, 2014
finally RT @SkyKerstein: And the #Wizards are heading to the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season
— Eric Bickel (@EBJunkies) April 3, 2014
WE have #Wizards playoff basketball coming to DC again.
— The Ball Hogs (@BallHogsRadio) April 3, 2014
PLAYOFFS! pic.twitter.com/8ruSODkJ4d
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) April 3, 2014
Verizon Center crowd is on its feet. Players rejoicing on the court. Wall smiling from ear to ear. Gotta love it. #Wizards
— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) April 3, 2014
75 seconds until the #wizards bandwagon start to fill up. #Wizceltics #allaboard
— DidTheCapitalsWin (@DidTheCapsWin) April 3, 2014
Somewhere Flip Saunders sheds a tear & takes a bit of his Subway sandwich.
— Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) April 3, 2014
Wittman and Wall hugging because, hey, playoffs. It's been 2,182 days since the Wizards last clinched a postseason berth.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) April 3, 2014
And it's official, the #Wizards are playoff bound! Washington defeats Boston 118-92 to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2008.
— CSN Washington (@CSNwashington) April 3, 2014
6 long, hard years. Beyond ecstatic right now
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) April 3, 2014
a playoff seed was born
— Playoff Wizards (@SoWizards) April 3, 2014
.@WashWizards clinch playoff berth with win over @celtics. BOX SCORE: http://t.co/0iX98dLetC pic.twitter.com/EhszaYGYHM
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 3, 2014
— Jake Whitacre (@jakewhitacre) April 3, 2014
Hey guess what? THE WIZARDS ARE HEADING THE PLAYOFFS!
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) April 3, 2014
Wizards playoffs areyouserious?
— Jack Kogod (@Unsilent) April 3, 2014
Playoff John Wall for the first time ever, guys. PLAYOFF JOHN WALL
— Michael Sykes, II (@Mikey_NBA) April 3, 2014
RT to congratulate the #Wizards on securing a spot in the 2014 NBA playoffs! #WizCeltics pic.twitter.com/TiptK6ONka
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) April 3, 2014
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 3, 2014
Hey. We made the playoffs. #Wizards pic.twitter.com/0K76weivWB
— B Mendoza (@mrbmendoza15) April 3, 2014
CLINCHED.C. pic.twitter.com/OyTOpxPPYo
— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) April 3, 2014
#wizards #playoffs http://t.co/vncu8ne8AY
— Zach Leonsis (@ZacharyLeonsis) April 3, 2014
@John_Wall congrats to you and the #Wiz for locking up a playoff spot. Keep balling Skins we got next lil bro
— DeAngelo Hall (@DeAngeloHall23) April 3, 2014
Non-Skins tweet:Congrats to @John_Wall , @RealDealBeal23 @MGortat @TrevorAriza @35_Fitz & the Washington Wizards on getting into the dance!
— HogsHaven.com (@HogsHaven) April 3, 2014
So happy and proud of John Wall. Never complained about the situation in DC, overcame a lot, and led his team to the playoffs. Just awesome
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) April 3, 2014
Wanna take this time to THANK All the TRUE, DIE HARD WIZARD FANS... This one was for You Guys. Love You ALL!!! #wizkids #playoffs #weready
— al harrington (@cheddahcheese7) April 3, 2014
Bet this guy is smiling #Wizards #Brazil pic.twitter.com/kasp1Qi0VX
— thom loverro (@thomloverro) April 3, 2014
I am soooooo stoked for Playoff John Wall. East should be watchable for the playoff newbies alone.
— Allen Mark (@allenmarkca) April 3, 2014
@chaddukes @steveaustinBSR HELL, yeah!!!
— Tony Perkins (@TonyPerkinsFOX5) April 3, 2014
"You can't explain the difference in the playoffs. The arena. The speed of the game" -Wittman on what he told Wall about playoffs #Wizards
— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) April 3, 2014
We made the playoffs! We made the playoffs!
— IG:TheRealGwiz (@the_real_Gwiz) April 3, 2014
For the first time in six years, the Wizards are in the playoffs. I can get used to it. pic.twitter.com/duZ2Mz2Awi
— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) April 3, 2014
Wiz need bring Gilbert in for playoff run, let he make Instagram videos ov behind the scenes action, poop in KSLife shoe
— Play Offzz (@wzzntzz) April 3, 2014
Wheels up #WizPlayoffs ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️
— T.J. Doyle (@gheorghetheblog) April 3, 2014
"Let me tell ya, it feels like I've been he 20 years." --Wittman on the "desperate" struggle of the #Wizards franchise.
— Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) April 3, 2014
Words can't explain how happy I am right now !! #playoffs #wizkids #believe
— John Wall (@John_Wall) April 3, 2014
VIDEO/GIF OF THE NIGHT
Awwwwww. (H/T @HoopDistrictDC)
*sniff* (H/T Jason Carlos)
GAMETHREAD COMMENT OF THE NIGHT
I mean, as wonderful as the Wizards making the playoffs is, we can all agree that this is the greatest thing that has ever happened, right? Okay, just checking.
GAME RECAP COMMENT(s) OF THE NIGHT ETERNITY
Wait, I spoke too soon.
FAR TOO SOON.
OH MY GOD.
I’M DYING OVER HERE
NOOOOOOO
GAMETHREAD ROLLCALL
| # | Commenter | # Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wall_Hopeful | 87 |
| 2 | Hands11 | 73 |
| 3 | elliotlevy2 | 72 |
| 4 | wad0cash | 53 |
| 5 | BealMVP4ever | 44 |
| 6 | DCKRS | 39 |
| 7 | HailSkinz | 37 |
| 8 | WindyRindy | 29 |
| 9 | qthaballa | 22 |
| 10 | Knowledge92 | 21 |
| 11 | LRJ | 14 |
| 12 | wync | 13 |
| 13 | TheBackCourt | 12 |
| 14 | Big Spoon | 11 |
| 15 | novadada | 11 |
| 16 | ryanwadams | 10 |
| 17 | KurisuDevil | 8 |
| 18 | pplchamp | 8 |
| 19 | p.robb87 | 7 |
| 20 | DMV Cock | 7 |
| 21 | segrt12 | 7 |
| 22 | thewiz06 | 6 |
| 23 | FTT | 6 |
| 24 | Houseofguards | 5 |
| 25 | Bradley_B3al | 5 |
| 26 | Mike Prada | 4 |
| 27 | hambonejackson | 4 |
| 28 | Beal or no Beal | 3 |
| 29 | MC-Sneaks | 3 |
| 30 | t0Shihiro | 3 |
| 31 | do.itch.big | 3 |
| 32 | John Wall Stan | 3 |
| 33 | obeast | 3 |
| 34 | ThePGPhenomenon | 2 |
| 35 | Chillinois | 2 |
| 36 | Jormond Wall | 2 |
| 37 | The Hoops Guru | 2 |
| 38 | ATrueNigerian | 2 |
| 39 | Banode | 2 |
| 40 | arian1123 | 2 |
| 41 | DCrez | 2 |
| 42 | caps&skins | 1 |
| 43 | denny from yates | 1 |
| 44 | DSRalltheway | 1 |
| 45 | Clutchcity202 | 1 |
| 46 | WizADeveryday | 1 |
| 47 | Izzy.Bae | 1 |
| 48 | yop32 | 1 |
| 49 | SladeKillah | 1 |
| 50 | Rook6980 | 1 |
| 51 | nichobert | 1 |
| 52 | tarheel723 | 1 |
| 53 | kudokensei | 1 |
| 54 | Ricky McFly | 1 |
LET'S GOOOOOOO
"I said, ‘Well, what do you want me to do? I didn't say it.' Smart people don't believe everything they read, and they don't believe hearsay. ... I guess Dabo believed it." -Steve Spurrier