Celtics Advance To Eastern Conference Finals

The Boston Celtics have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, after beating the Washington Wizards, 115-105, at the TD Garden Monday night. 

Here are some quick post game thoughts:

Kelly From The Clouds- You could have polled 100 of the biggest Celtics fans on the planet Earth, prior to this game, and I'm not sure five of them would have said that the player to step up in Game 7 would have been Kelly Olynyk. With rest of Boston's role players putting together rather pedestrian night, in terms of scoring, Olynyk almost outdid the team's top dog Isaiah Thomas, as he poured in 26 points on the night. Overall, olynyk put together one of his best performances of the season, going 10-14 from the field and adding five rebounds and four assists. He capped the night with 14 fourth quarter points.

One Big Run- With the game still very much a back and forth affair late in the third, the C's went on a run that ultimately separated them and carried through most of the fourth quarter.

A True Home Court Series- Game 7 truly lived up to the series' "home court advantage" theme, as the C's got the series-clinching win at the Garden. Throughout the sevens games, the home team was victorious in each match up. Luckily for Celtics fans, Boston got four games at the Garden.

Unsung Hero- While Olynyk went off for 26 points and Thomas had his consistently solid night by adding 29 points of his own, the Celtics' unsung hero of the night might just be Marcus Smart. The guard came off the bench and added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, while also equaling Al Horford for a team and game high +14 in plus/minus. Along with the solid numbers, Smart also did a good job defensively of limiting the otherwise blazing hot Bradley Beal down the stretch of the game.

Keeping The Ball Safe- Turnovers proved to be costly for the Wizards, as the C's did a better job of keeping the ball safe on the night and were able to come away with the win. Washington committed 15 turnovers to Boston's eight. Usually, the team that wins the turnover battle wins the game.

Here Comes Cleveland- The Celtics will now welcome the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers to town on Wednesday night, as the Eastern Conference Finals get underway. Cleveland won three of the four games the two teams played during the regular season, and has yet to lose a game in the postseason. Boston will surely have it's hands full trying to slow Lebron James and company.