Irving, Celtics shoot past Wizards in OT

Kyrie Irving hit a tiebreaking, 31-foot 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining in overtime, and the visiting Boston Celtics held off the Washington Wizards 130-125 on Wednesday night.

Bradley Beal and John Wall both missed 3-point attempts to tie the score before Irving closed out Boston's victory with two free throws.

Irving's 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds left gave the Celtics a two-point lead, but John Wall's jumper tied it with 30.7 seconds to go.

Irving scored 38 points and Marcus Morris added 27 for Boston, which won its seventh straight.

Wall, who returned after missing one game with bone spurs in his left heel, led the Wizards with 34 points and 13 assists, continually driving for baskets over the final minutes of regulation and overtime.

Beal and Jeff Green scored 22 points each for the Wizards, and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 20 points.

Beal tied the score 113-113 with 11.3 seconds remaining in regulation when he made a free throw, then got the rebound of his subsequent missed free throw and scored. Irving missed on a drive into traffic at the buzzer.

Boston benefitted from 24 second-chance points and was 25-for-25 from the free throw line while Washington missed 8 of 29 foul shots.

The Celtics trailed by nine to start the third quarter. before hitting 13 of 21 field-goal attempts. Boston turned the deficit into a seven-point lead as Morris hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Washington opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and took the lead on Markieff Morris's 3-pointer with 9:39 remaining. The teams stayed close for the remainder of regulation.

The Celtics were without Al Horford because of an injured left knee as well as Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward due to illness. Aron Baynes returned after missing two games and most of a third.

Washington was without Otto Porter Jr. due to a bruised knee.

The Wizards led 55-46 at halftime.

Washington shot 47.4 percent (18 of 39) in the first half, while the Celtics managed only 38 percent (19 of 50), including 4 of 20 (20 percent) from beyond the arc.

For the game, the Wizards outshot the Celtics 50.5 percent to 45.2 percent from the floor. Washington made 12 of 33 3-point attempts while Boston was 11 of 38 from beyond the arc. — Field Level Media/Reuters