NBA

Toothless Thomas Leads Celtics to Game 1 Win Over Wizards

Isaiah Thomas lost a tooth during Sunday's game, but shrugged it off to lead the Boston Celtics to a 123-111 comeback win against the Washington Wizards in Game 1 of their second round playoff series.

Thomas finished with a game-high 33 points to lead Boston. Jae Crowder chipped in with 24 of his own, Al Horford had 21 and Avery Bradley added 18 despite an off shooting night.

The backcourt duo of Bradley Beal (27 points) and John Wall (20) led the way for the Wizards.

The first half got off to a wild - and rough - start for the Celtics, as they started off down 16-0 to the Wizards, as the starting five including Gerald Green that played so well in the first round win against the Chicago Bulls failed to match up well against Washington.

But after Thomas lost his front tooth, he caught fire, hitting two straight three pointers to jump-start the team. Behind 9 first half threes, the Celtics were able to pull within 5 by halftime.

Thomas flew home to Washington for his sister's funeral after Friday night's series-clinching win over the Bulls. Chyna Thomas, 22, was killed in a car crash one day before the start of the playoffs. But the Celtics star point guard was back in Boston in plenty of time for Sunday's game.

The Celtics went on a run in the third quarter, closing it out with a Horford three to give themselves a 15-point lead. But they let the Wizards back into the game by going more than 4 minutes without a basket to start the fourth quarter.

Bojan Bogdonavic scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter, leading Celtics coach Brad Stevens to insert rarely-used rookie Jaylen Brown, who scored 5 late points and played some tough defense down the stretch.

Game 2 is Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Boston.

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