Celtics Advance To Conference Finals
After going the distance in their opening round series, the Boston Celtics needed just five games in the second round to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston punched their ticket to a showdown with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 114-112 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at the TD Garden Wednesday night.
After winning the first three games of the series, the C's fell to the Sixers in Philly in Game 4. Looking to close out the series in five games on their home court, Boston had their hands full early.
The two teams battled tough throughout the first half.
After one quarter, the C's held a one point lead, which quickly evaporated at the start of the second. With the game knotted at 48 apiece with 3:30 left in the first half, the Celts went on an impressive 13-4 run, capped by a buzzer-beating three pointer by Terry Rozier, to take a 61-52 lead into the break.
After jumping out to an 11-point lead, midway through the third, Boston gave up a big run of their own, as the Sixers went on a 15-5 run. the strong play from Philly ultimately trimmed the Boston lead to just one point, heading into the final quarter.
Philly had multiple four-point leads in the fourth, but could never pull away and the C's just kept clawing their way back, going on a 10-0 run at one point.
All the back-and-forth brough the game down to the final seconds, with the Sixers cutting Boston's lead to one on a deep J.J. Reddick three-pointer with under five second to play.
Marcus Smart took over from there, making one of two free throws and then picking off the final desperation inbound pass to seal the series-clinching victory.
On the game, the C's had six players, including all five starters, in double figures.
Rookie Jayson Tatum led the way with 25 points, while second year guard Jaylen Brown scored 24, himself. Terry Rozier (17) and Al Horford (15) combined for another 32 points. Horford stuffed his stat sheet with a team-high eight rebounds and five steals to go along with the 15 points and three assists.