an pay him and extra year and about $26.5 million more than any ot

BOSTON -- Bradley Beal stood at his locker near the middle of a noisy Washington locker room and expressed a thought that Wizards players havent felt for a few years. "I was sitting here after the game and talking to Glen (Rice) saying, Its a great feeling knowing youre going to keep playing," Beal said after scoring 27 points to help the Wizards grab the Eastern Conferences No. 5 seed with a 118-102 win over Boston on Wednesday night. "You dont have to go home now and not know what youre doing," he said. "Its a great thing for us to be in the situation were in. For me being my second year, a lot of guys havent been through it." The Wizards, who closed the regular season by winning seven of their last 10 games, will be facing Chicago in their first playoff appearance since 2008. "I just thought the way we ended it, thats what we talked about," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We didnt want to worry about whos chasing who." The Wizards jumped over Brooklyn and into fifth place after the Nets lost in Cleveland. Trevor Booker scored 20 points, Marcin Gortat had 15 with 10 rebounds, and John Wall 15 points for Washington, which finished the regular season 44-38. Its the most wins for the franchise since 45 in 2004-05. "I thought we had a pretty good season," Washington forward Trevor Ariza said. "We had our ups and we had downs, but for the most part its definitely been a step in the right direction." Boston sat injured guards Rajon Rondo and Jerryd Bayless, and injured forwards Kris Humphries and Jared Sullinger, finishing with a 25-57 record. It was the clubs worst since going 24-58 in 2006-07, the year before acquiring Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and winning its 17th NBA title. "Im not concerned that we arent going to strive to get better," Boston first-year coach Brad Stevens said. "I think we will work. I think their work ethics are good, and I think their coach-ability is pretty good." One player that may be wondering if hell be back is Rondo. When asked if he wants to be with the club next season, he said: "Next question." The point guard will be in the final year of his contract. Rookie Kelly Olynyk led Boston with 24 points and seven boards. Jeff Green scored 20 points and Avery Bradley 18. The Celtics closed the season, filled with fans talking a lot of "tanking" and "pingpong balls," by losing 11 of their last 13. Stevens wants his players that return to come ready to fight for more playing time next season. "So, theres a couple of different ways to look at it: Are you going to get better in your role, or are you going to expand your role?" he said. "What I mean by that is: Are you going to get better at what you do well, or are you going to get better at some other things that make you, give you the chance instead of being the eighth guy to be the fifth? Or instead of being the fifth to be the third?" Washington, which never trailed, led by 12 at halftime before the Celtics opened the third with a 14-6 run, closing it to 74-70 on Brandon Bass jumper from the left wing. But -- behind Gortats eight points -- the Wizards answered by scoring 13 of the next 16 to move ahead 87-73. Washington led by 16 entering the final quarter and coasted to the win. Behind Wall scoring their initial six points, the Wizards had opened a double-digit lead (23-11) on Gortats jumper midway into the opening quarter. They shot 66.7 per cent (18 of 27) and led 38-24 at the break. Both teams had a hot shooting second quarter, with neither below 55 per cent as the Wizards lead ranged between five and 15 points en route to a 68-56 halftime edge. NOTES: Wall started all 82 regular season games after missing the start of last season with a left knee injury. "Coming off a tough year, last year injury-wise, to be able to play all 82 games is a heck of an accomplishment," Wittman said before the game. "You look at all the really good players that have played the game and they play all 82." ... Bass won the teams Red Auerbach Award thats given to the player or coach who best exemplifies the spirit of what it means to be a Celtic through performance on and off the court. ... Sullinger spoke to the crowd from midcourt before the game, saying: "We want to thank you for your endless support and passion throughout the whole season. Hopefully well come back better next year." MLB Jerseys Outlet . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. Wholesale Nike MLB Jerseys . Andrew Luck couldnt believe his ears. Colts fans couldnt believe the scoreboard, and the Kansas City Chiefs couldnt believe their incredibly bad luck. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN. Fake Nike MLB Jerseys . Lynchs attorney, Ivan Golde, told The Associated Press on Thursday of the plea deal that was reached with the Alameda County District Attorney Office. The plea will be formally entered in court in Oakland, Calif. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . The German has taken the pole for three straight races -- winning the first two. Hes aiming for a third consecutive win at the Yeongam circuit and, most importantly, a fourth consecutive F1 championship.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves best days came with Flip Saunders on the sideline. Now that the organization is shrouded in uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of star forward Kevin Love, Saunders is returning to the bench to try revive a franchise that hasnt made the playoffs in 10 years. With the teams coaching search complicated by Loves status, the Timberwolves decided the best course of action was to have Saunders, who was hired last season as president of basketball operations, step in for a second stint as coach until the situation stabilized, Saunders said in a text message Thursday. The official announcement will come at a news conference on Friday afternoon. Saunders previously coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005. He won 411 games in 10 1/2 seasons in Minnesota and guided the Wolves to the only eight playoff appearances in franchise history, including the Western Conference finals in 2004. He has a career record of 638-526 in 16 seasons as an NBA head coach, a career that also includes stops in Detroit, where he coached the Pistons to three straight Eastern Conference finals, and Washington. Saunders is joining a short list in the NBA of coaches who also have final-say executive authority, one that includes newly hired Stan Van Gundy in Detroit, Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers and, to a certain extent, Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Saunders will continue to work closely with GM Milt Newton in the front office while handling coaching duties. When Rick Adelman retired at the end of the regular season, he did so in part to try to help the Timberwolves move forward with a plan to show Love, a three-time All-Star who can opt out of his contract next summer, that there was a long-term plan in place for success. But Loves tenuous situation didnt help the search process, with trade rumours serving as a caution sign for several high-profile candidates. Saunders was in the market for a coach with extensive head coaching experience, either in the NBA or at a major college program, one that could command the respect of a young locker room and also handle the media scrutiny that comes with the questions surrounding Love. Names like Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan and Fred Hoiberg came and went without any traction. The Wolves hosted Memphis coach Dave Joerger for an interview two weekends ago, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera sweetened his contract to keep him around.dddddddddddd Sam Mitchell, Lionel Hollins, Scott Skiles and several others received consideration as well. Unable to find what they felt was the right fit for a delicate job, Saunders and owner Glen Taylor met this week to reassess the situation, according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team was not publicly discussing the search process. Taylor said when he brought Saunders back as team president that he would not put him back on the bench. He fired Saunders as coach once before, in 2005 when Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, unhappy with their contracts, submarined the follow-up to the teams stirring run to the Western Conference finals. Saunders was also hopeful that he could find someone other than himself to take over the team. But with Loves status preventing them from pursuing the coaches they felt would fit best, the two decided that Saunders should take over for at least this season if not longer. The Timberwolves have not given up on convincing Love to play out this season in Minnesota and re-sign next summer to a contract that can pay him and extra year and about $26.5 million more than any other team. It was not immediately clear what the appointment of Saunders would do for Loves desires to stay or go. The Timberwolves planned to meet with Love to see where he stands now that the head coaching vacancy has been filled. Love has yet to make the playoffs in his six seasons in the league and is believed to be growing impatient with the Wolves, who finished 40-42 and in 10th place in the West this year. Love created a stir when he spent last weekend in Boston, where the Celtics are rumoured to be making a run at trading for the 25-year-old power forward before the June 26 draft. Just how long Saunders will coach remains to be seen. There is the possibility that Saunders will add assistants to his staff who could be groomed to eventually take over. The Wolves were expected to reach out to Mitchell, a former Timberwolves player and Raptors head coach, and David Blatt, who has spearheaded Russias return to Olympic relevance and coaches in Israel, to gauge their interest in joining his staff. ' ' '