Bradley Beal, Wizards back up talk against Celtics

At the end, John Wall and Bradley Beal had their arms up, trying to push the crowd up one more level.

The Wizards had heaped extra pressure on themselves by wearing all-black clothing to the game against the Boston Celtics. Washington was also on the second night of a back-to-back, which typically equates to a loss for it, against a rested Boston team. To top it off, the last time the teams played, security had to intervene.

But on Tuesday, the Wizards never trailed during a 123-108 win against the Celtics. Three points from the night after Washington rolled on:

Ongoing resurrection. The Wizards have moved from 2-8 to 25-20. That turnaround is at a minimum surprising. Considering the bench, health and wayward work at the start of the season, for Washington to be on a roll in January seemed far-fetched. Instead, here it is.

Tuesday’s win was the 14th consecutive at home, the longest current streak in the league. The Wizards are 8-2 in the last 10 games, and a buzzer-beating tip-in from being 9-1 during that stretch (9-2 if you want to stretch it another game). Washington is in the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. It is one game behind the fifth-place Atlanta Hawks; just a game-and-a-half behind sliding Boston, which is in the third spot.

The Wizards are idle Wednesday, when the Hawks go to Chicago and Boston hosts Houston. By day’s end, they could be a half-game out of fourth and one game out of third. Yes, it’s midseason. Yes, the bench may not fully be trustworthy. But, the starting five may be the third-best, if not better, in the Eastern Conference. Since that is the group doing most of the work, the Wizards start each night with a strong chance to win.

Rivalry? Well, no. Cedric Maxwell’s knees still jam up under tables constructed for normal-sized humans. He’s 61 years old now, so folding a 6-foot-8 body under a low-slung table in the Verizon Center media room to eat dinner is a chore. Maxwell was in Washington on Tuesday during the Celtics’ visit. He does radio for the Celtics, and struts around as a reminder of a different time in the NBA. Maxwell played for the Celtics from 1977-85, when film was grainier and the league was grittier, even borderline dirty at times.

He participated in tussles with the Philadelphia 76ers when Andrew Toney was labeled “The Boston Strangler.” Maxwell was also there for the birth of the Bird-Magic era, a time when Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis and it seemed the Lakers and Celtics played every Sunday during the regular season before fighting for the title at the end.

Those were days of rivalries, with less postgame bro-hugs, without the AAU roots that pervade today. Anyone familiar with that lore would chuckle at the suggestion of the Wizards and Celtics claiming to be involved in a rivalry now. It’s passable in this era, after being stoked by a near-slapfight the last game between the two, last year’s grousing from then-Wizards coach Randy Wittman, and the Wizards dressing in all-black outfits on their way into the game Tuesday. But, it’s nothing more than a moderate troll job in reality. Not that Markieff Morris doesn’t think the league could use a jolt of animosity from a good rivalry.

“I think the league needs it,” Morris said. “That’s good for basketball. We were excited when we said we were going to wear all black, then looking on the TV and they’re putting [it on] ESPN.”

Morris is one of the few modern players who is unfriendly on the floor and tempers the amount of hugs he gives out afterward.

“Me, personally, in the game, I don’t want no friends,” Morris said. “After the game, we can hug it out and do it nice about your family and all that. But keep it at basketball during the game.”

Trying to stifle injuries. Otto Porter again looked hampered by his hip on Tuesday night. Porter has said in the past that he needs to stretch the hip in order to keep his back from locking up. That’s his main concern throughout the season. The downside of a recurring injury is that it keeps coming back. The upside is the treatment protocol is known. Porter played 31 minutes against the Celtics, but took only four shots.

Another issue that may have cropped up: injured center Ian Mahinmi was doing drills pregame on the game floor (as opposed to the practice floor). In the middle of them, he took himself out of the drills and pointed to his lower back. Mahinmi did not resume the drills after sitting down courtside. Instead, he went to the Wizards’ locker room. He’s played just 14 minutes this season because of a preseason knee surgery and complications that followed in his other knee. When he was doing the drills Tuesday, Mahinmi had a large wrap on his left knee and fiddled with his right. Why is he so crucial to the Wizards? Because his skill set is the opposite of current backup center Jason Smith. Mahinmi is there to play defense, which is something the Wizards’ bench group could use. Wizards coach Scott Brooks said Mahinmi will be evaluated at the end of the month. It’s hard to picture him returning before the all-star break in mid-February.