BOSTON — This was the one that got away, one that rested in the palm then slipped out through the cracks of a closing fist.
Game 2 will be lamented by Washington as a chance gone. Its two best players, tugged by tired legs, sore hands and wanting bodies from being smacked throughout the brutish night, each had an opportunity at the end. John Wall missed an 18-foot jump shot. An offensive rebound led to Bradley Beal’s chance. He missed his possible game-winner from 15 feet, an air ball at the buzzer to add to the indignity of a 4-for-15 night, the worst postseason performance of his career.