In Sunday’s Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics were extremely remarkable, as they turned a close first half into a thrashing in the second.
The Celtics won 112-88 thanks to a historic 51-point performance from Jayson Tatum and 25 points from Jaylen Brown.
Marcus Smart, a guard, spoke about the victory and the entire series after the game.
.@tvabby caught up exclusively with Marcus Smart after the Cs big win over Philly pic.twitter.com/v0TTvpVHHB
Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 14, 2023
It s always sweet, said Smart about the Celtics sixth playoff series win over Philly in his career. Anytime you can be in the playoffs, get to go to a Game 7 and then close it out on your home court, it s always sweet, so we re happy. We played against a really good team in Philly, got the MVP (Joel Embiid), rightfully so, deservingly, and they played hard. They pushed us to the brink and we came out with the win today.
Tatum deserves the majority of the credit for this victory, but Smart and the Celtics defense both played well.
He contributed to Boston holding the Sixers to just 37.3 percent overall shooting and 21.6 percent 3-point shooting, preventing Philly’s guards from going hot.
Just a few days prior, Boston was down 3-2 in the series after losing Game 5 on their home court and some people believed their postseason run would begin early.
But they reacted by winning Game 6 thanks in large part to their defense, which held the Sixers to just 86 points.
Boston will now play the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the third time in the last four seasons that these two clubs have met.
The first task for the Celtics will be to restrict Jimmy Butler, who is very probably the most feared player in the NBA when the game is on the line. Through 10 postseason games, Butler is averaging 31.1 points per contest.
They defeated Miami in seven games last season after making it through a thrilling, home-game seventh that was decided in the waning seconds.
They will take against Miami hoping to exact revenge for their NBA Finals defeat from the previous year and win their 18th world title.
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Fans React To Celtics Eliminating The 76ers From Playoffs