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The last time the Wizards won in Boston, Isaiah Thomas wasn’t a Celtic
A Game 5 loss extends three-year losing streak for Washington at TD Garden
To say that playing on the road against the Boston Celtics is kryptonite for the Washington Wizards is an understatement.
The Wizards simply can’t win at TD Garden. They haven’t done so in this year’s playoffs and didn’t do so during the regular season. They didn’t win in Boston during the 2015-16 season, nor the 2014-15 season. In the past three seasons, Washington has played eight road games against the Celtics, and all ended in losses — the latest delivered Wednesday night in a 123-101 Boston blowout in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals that gave the Celtics a 3-2 series lead.
The last time the Wizards won in Beantown? April 16, 2014. Barack Obama was still the president of the United States, the Golden State Warriors had yet to blow a 3-1 lead, and Boston’s present-day hero, the 5-foot-9, high-scoring Isaiah Thomas, was not yet a Celtic.
That same night in 2014, when the Wizards claimed a 118-102 victory over the Celtics to clinch the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Thomas played 17 minutes for the Sacramento Kings, scoring a meager four points in a 104-99 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Three months later, Thomas was traded to Phoenix. And at the February 2015 trade deadline, he became a Celtic.
The Suns have sent Isaiah Thomas to the Celtics for Marcus Thornton and the Cavs' 2016 first-round pick. (via @GoodmanESPN)
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 19, 2015
Kings will send Isaiah Thomas to Suns in sign-and-trade deal after reaching new 4-year, $28 million contract. » http://t.co/p38ZqJS0Bv
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 11, 2014
Since that 2014 road win over Boston, here’s how the Wizards have stacked up at TD Garden:
- Dec. 7, 2014: Boston 101, Washington 93 — Rasual Butler (who’s no longer in the league) led the Wizards in scoring, and Rajon Rondo was still the starting point guard for the Celtics.
- Nov. 6, 2015: Boston 118, Washington 98 — Fun fact: Justin Bieber’s triple-platinum album Purpose was released exactly a week later.
- Nov. 27, 2015: Boston 111, Washington 78 — The day after Thanksgiving, the Celtics were thankful to beat the Wizards at home again.
- Jan. 11: Boston 117, Washington 108 — An altercation between Jae Crowder and John Wall cost them a combined $40,000 in league fines.
- March 20: Boston 110, Washington 102 — To get hyped before the game, the Celtics must’ve been bumping Drake’s More Life playlist, which dropped two days before.
- April 30, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals: Boston 123, Washington 111 — Thomas lost a tooth and still balled out in the W.
- May 2, Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals: Boston 129, Washington 119 in overtime — Thomas dropped a 53-piece on his late sister Chyna’s birthday.
- May 10, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals: Boston 123, Washington 101 — Another Wizards road L in Boston? Yeah, another one *DJ Khaled voice.*
After Boston’s win in Game 5, the series will tilt back to D.C. for a pivotal Game 6 on Friday. The Wizards still have a chance of making it out of the series to face the well-rested Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. But to do so, they’ll have to win not only Game 6 at the Verizon Center, but also a Game 7 at the one and only TD Garden. Ruh roh.