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BOSTON — Isaiah Thomas had 33 points and nine assists, and 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 earlier this 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.

A rivalry has been simmering between the teams since last year, when Boston swept the season series.

They split their four regular-season matchups this season, but each included intense moments.

Sunday’s matchup was played at just as high a level, with a frenzied pace at times and physical play underneath the basket.

After the Wizards’ early scoring flurry, Thomas lost his tooth in a collision, and initially played through it. He found his tooth during a timeout, but started the second quarter on the bench while getting it repositioned in the locker room.

His teammates went on a 13-2 run without him to cut into Washington’s lead.

Boston led by 15 at the end of the third before a 9-0 spurt by the Wizards to start the final period closed the gap.

Thomas arrived back in Boston early Sunday. It was the second cross-country trip for him since Chyna Thomas died in a car accident last month, the day before the Celtics opened their first-round series against Chicago.

The Celtics star flew with Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and assistant coach Jerome Allen.

During player introductions, Thomas pointed to the TD Garden rafters when his name was called.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Shot 10 of 23 from 3-point line. … Morris turned his left ankle after landing on Horford’s foot after a made jumper. He stayed in the game to complete his three-point play, then checked out. … Washington shot 62 percent (16 for 26) in the first quarter. … Grabbed the first 12 rebounds of the game.

Celtics: Didn’t score their first field goal until 6:42 remained in the first quarter, on a layup by Avery Bradley. … Didn’t register their first rebound of the game until the 5:57 mark. …Kelly Olynyk has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, after doing so just twice in his first 11 career playoff games.

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More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Eds: Jazz 104, Clippers 91. Updates. With AP Photos.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gordon Hayward scored 26 points and the Utah Jazz easily eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday with a 104-91 victory, 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. Last season, they lost to Portland after Paul and Blake Griffin went down with injuries. This time, they didn’t have Griffin again after he was lost in Game 3 with a big-toe injury.

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 ½ minutes, drawing the Clippers within eight.

Paul couldn’t muster any of his fourth-quarter magic, either. He went scoreless with three assists in the period.

By then, the Jazz were well in command, ahead by 17 points and hardly feeling pressured by foul trouble for Rudy Gobert and Favors, who both fouled out. Gobert finished with one point in 14 minutes. Favors had 11 rebounds off the bench.

The first six games between the fourth-seeded Clippers and No. 5 Utah were decided by eight points or less. Los Angeles outscored Utah 98.8 points to 98.0 points. The teams had identical 51-31 records in the regular season.

But this one was all Utah in the second half.

The Jazz opened the third on a 23-9 run, extending their lead to 69-48 — largest in the series. Boris Diaw had eight points, Hayward added six and Hill four as the Jazz had three three-point plays.

The Clippers got bogged down with a shot-clock turnover, a delay of game warning and Redick’s airball on a 3-point attempt while the home crowd went silent.

This time, the Jazz didn’t need the big-shot heroics of Joe Johnson or the presence of Gobert.

The Clippers, whose only lead was one point minutes into the game, shot 44 percent, and were outscored 56-46 in the paint and 12-9 on fast-break points.

TIP-INS

Jazz: They improved to 3-2 all-time in Game 7s. … Hayward made 43 of 45 free throws in the series.

Clippers: They fell to 3-4 all-time in Game 7s. … They dropped to 3-1 under Paul in first-round Game 7s, having beaten Memphis in 2012, Golden State in 2014 and San Antonio in 2015. … Beyonce and Jay Z sat courtside behind sunglasses.

Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas goes up to shoot against Washington Wizards’ Otto Porter Jr. during the second quarter of a second-round NBA playoff series game Sunday in Boston.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_116332899-c9148f06a6684560beac211291d2c3b2.jpg.optimal.jpgBoston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas goes up to shoot against Washington Wizards’ Otto Porter Jr. during the second quarter of a second-round NBA playoff series game Sunday in Boston. Michael Dwyer | AP photo

By Kyle Hightower

AP Sports Writer