NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points from Boston Celtics' overtime win over Washington Wizards

When Boston found themselves in trouble on the road in Washington in an overtime thriller, Kyrie Irving came to their rescue. After an unexpectedly long period of time, he finally looked like the player who shot the go-ahead three-pointer from the right wing during the 2016 Finals to get LeBron James his 3rd ring.

The Boston Celtics clinched a hard-fought 130-125 victory over the Washington Wizards in a game that saw the DC crowd rooting for Irving and the Celts more than they cheered for their home team.

Boston look like they are finding their feet in the East lately, having won 8 out their last 10 games. As a result of this win (which was their 7th consecutive), they have improved to 17-10 (0.630) to take the 5th spot in the Eastern Conference leaderboard.

The Wizards find themselves in a bit of a slump as they have now lost three games in quick succession, and have surrendered five of their previous 10 matchups. They slipped to an abysmal 10th spot in the East and currently, host a quite-unlike-Wizards 11-17 record.

Let's look at some key takeaways from this nail-biter down in Washington D.C.

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#1 Kyrie Irving scores a game-high 38 points and comes up with clutch play down the stretch

"I was just trying to win the game."

Al Horford missed his third straight game due to injured left knee, while Brown and Hayward remained out because of illness when the Celtics visited DC. Both Kyrie and Morris (each played 40 minutes) stepped up big time in a game when their coach needed them to.

Irving scored Boston's last 12 points single-handedly, including two back-to-back clutch threes in the final 40 seconds of overtime.

Tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game: No brainer. Kyrie Irving hits the rainbow three late in OT, then proceeds to bury the dagger from waaaay downtown! pic.twitter.com/EFUwWJya4l

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 13, 2018

"We've seen Kyrie do that on multiple occasions," said Marcus Smart, "But to see it again in person - every day we see that is something that is jaw-dropping for us."

With his team serenaded by "Let's go, Celtics!" chants on the road, Irving even got his own "MVP!" chorus later as he helped his understaffed team triumph under pressure. He finished with 38 points and seven assists, while one-half of the Morris twins in Green contributed 27 points and nine rebounds on the night.

#2 John Wall & Bradley Beal combine for 56 points, but can't get the win

Kyrie outdueled John Wall in this point-guard showdown

Beal is averaging almost 23 points per game while his backcourt partner is dropping 21 points on an average this season. Although Beal is performing slightly better overall, on this particular night, it was Wall who matched Irving's brilliance.

Wall played 41 minutes and dropped 34 points, shooting 14 of 26 from the floor. He also dished out 13 dimes and grabbed 6 boards, finishing with a double-double.

Beal meanwhile had a 50% shooting night (8-16) from the field as well as the three-point land, ending the game with 22 points to his name.

Beal has been averaging almost 25 points throughout his last 10 games, though his total yesterday was the lowest of his previous five matchups with the Wizards.

Both of them missed clutch threes in overtime, and Beal remained scoreless in those extra five minutes.

#3 The Celtics, as a unit, are perfect from the free-throw line

Morris & Irving were the top-scorers for Boston in this game.

Morris, Irving, Smart, Theis and Rozier were the only Celtics who made it to the line. And they ended up making all of them, giving their team a perfect 25-25 from the FT line in this game.

Boston are averaging 80% as a unit from the FT line (which is the 8th best in the league) this season, and they finished this game with five players in double figures.

But John Wall had his reservations regarding the no calls from the referees on the night. He said after the game:

"We get so many hand-check calls to put those guys on the free throw line. Let guys make plays. I mean, then we drive to the basket, getting fouled, and we're not getting it. We play just as aggressive as anybody else. So I don't understand it. I don't respect it."

Washington actually took more foul shots, 29 to 25. But in contrast, the Wizards committed 27 personal fouls in comparison to the Celtics' total of 19, so you actually see what Wall was pointing at.

Though the Wizards had just one more turnover than the Celtics, the foul-line is probably what tipped the balance in Boston's favour.