Isaiah Thomas had 33 points and nine assists as the Boston Celtics made 19 3-pointers to beat the Washington Wizards 123-111 Sunday and take a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup. Thomas played just a day after attending the funeral for his sister, who died in a car accident last month outside of Tacoma, Washington. Al Horford added 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Jae Crowder finished with 24 points. The Wizards were more energetic at the outset, jumping out to a 16-0 advantage and leading by as many as 17 points. But the Celtics rallied in the second quarter with Thomas briefly sidelined after getting one of his two front teeth knocked out. Bradley Beal led Washington with 27 points. John Wall added 20 points and 16 assists. Washington starter Markieff Morris played just 11 minutes before leaving with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter. Jazz 104, Clippers 91 Gordon Hayward scored 26 points as the Utah Jazz easily eliminated the Los Angeles, winning the first-round playoff series 4-3. George Hill and Derrick Favors added 17 points apiece in Utah's first postseason victory since 2010. The Jazz advanced to face top-seeded Golden State in the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors swept Portland 4-0 and have been waiting since Wednesday to find out their next opponent. Game 1 is Tuesday in Oakland. The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan had 24 points and 17 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the series. Jamal Crawford added 20 points off the bench. Chris Paul had 13 points for the Clippers, who were sent packing in the first round for the second straight year. "We've been through some pretty hard downs," said Hayward, a seventh-year veteran. "It definitely feels really good to go from 25 wins to where we were this year making the playoffs, winning a series." In the most closely contested series of the first round — and the only to go seven games — the Clippers came up strangely flat with their season on the line. J.J. Redick didn't hit his first 3-pointer until the game's final 3 1⁄2 minutes, drawing the Clippers within eight. "Late, when we did start scoring, we couldn't get stops," said Chris Paul, who had 13 points for the Clippers. He couldn't muster any of his fourth-quarter magic, either. Paul went scoreless with three assists in the period after tweaking an ankle in the third. "We made it difficult for Chris Paul to get in the lane, get his little pullup jump shot," Hayward said. "Guys on the weak side were rotated, making them make the extra pass and make some other guys try to create for them." In the fourth, the Jazz were well in command, ahead by 17 points and hardly feeling pressured by foul trouble for Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, who both fouled out after scoring 17 points apiece. "I was struggling a lot this season with injuries and my teammates had to hold it down for me," Favors said. "I felt like I owed them, especially in this game." "There's no excuses," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We lost." Spurs now face Harden and freewheeling Rockets After surviving an intense, physical battle with the Memphis Grizzlies, the San Antonio Spurs now face James Harden and the freewheeling Houston Rockets. With a leading MVP candidate leading its offense in Harden, Houston averaged 112.8 points in its five-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets attempted 169 3-pointers in that series, making 34 percent and were 134 for 168 from the free throw line. Led by their own MVP candidate in Kawhi Leonard and a resurgent Tony Parker, the Spurs will have to match Houston's offensive output if they can't contain the Rockets when the series tips off Monday night in San Antonio. "We don't want to, but I feel if we have to, I think we're capable," said Spurs guard Danny Green, who will be among those trying to slow Harden. "We have enough guys that can put the ball in the basket, especially at an up-and-down-pace type of game. I think most guys prefer it. I think they'll give us an opportunity to score more, we've just got to take care of the ball." San Antonio has not faced Houston in the playoffs since the 1995 Western Conference finals, two seasons before the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan with the first overall pick. Still, the intra-state rivals are extremely familiar with each other. "We know it's going to be tough, an extremely tough series," Harden said. "San Antonio isn't going to beat themselves. So, we've got to be mentally focused and prepared to go out there and execute every possession, every game." — AP
