POSTGAME WASHINGTON - HOME - SERIES 2 - GAME 7

Kelly Olynyk, Jaylen Brown help Isaiah Thomas, Celtics vanquish Wizards in electric Game 7, move onto LeBron James

WEEI

By Mike Petraglia

Bring on LeBron.

In a series filled with dramatic swings in momentum and emotion, the Celtics outlasted the Wizards, 115-105, Monday night in a tense Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Garden.

Kelly Olynyk put up a playoff career high of 26 points off the bench – including 14 in an amazing fourth-quarter display – while Isaiah Thomas was his usual electric self with 29 points as the Celtics can now get ready for Game 1 of the Eastern finals against the defending champion Cavaliers Wednesday night in Boston.

The heroics of Olynyk and Thomas offset a playoff career-best 38 points from Bradley Beal in a losing cause.

The reason the Celtics advanced was simple: They had more in reserve. Specifically, their bench gave them a boost that the Wizards just didn’t enjoy.

The group of Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk gave the Celtics the luxury to rest the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Al Horford.

When when Thomas and Horford were on the court in the fourth quarter, they put away Washington in dramatic fashion. Thomas and Horford dominated. John Wall looked like a superstar entirely out of gas. Wall couldn’t do it all and Washington’s awful bench was his and the team’s ultimate undoing.

The Celtics’ bench outscored Washington’s reserves, 48-5.

For the Wizards, their Eastern finals drought continues. They haven’t been to the NBA final four since 1979 when they beat the San Antonio Spurs to advance to the NBA finals against Seattle. The home team won all 11 meetings this season.

The Celtics advance to the Eastern finals for the first time since 2012, when they also faced LeBron James and fell in a seven-game thriller to the Miami Heat. The Celtics continued their dominance of the Wizards in Boston, beating Washington for the ninth straight time, dating to 2014.

With an electric Game 7 atmosphere not seen in TD Garden for a Celtics game since beating the 76ers in 2012, the Celtics took advantage of the thunderous crowd.

Washington missed five of their first six shots while the Celtics hit three of their first six, including a wing three that ignited the crowd and caused Scott Brooks to call his first time out.

Otto Porter’s put back with seven minutes left ended Boston’s 7-0 run that helped the Celtics to a 10-2 lead. That started a run for the Wizards, which included Amir Johnson picking up his second foul. Another Achilles heel of the Celtics revealed itself in the first seven minutes, as four turnovers led to seven Wizards points.

(For a complete boxscore, click here.)

With the game tied at 17, rookie Jaylen Brown came off the bench to spark a 7-0, including a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. The Wizards again responded with a run that featured Amir Johnson picking up his third foul with a minute left in the opening quarter. The Celtics picked up some momentum when Kelly Olynyk drove to the basket for a layup and was fouled with 5.7 seconds left. Olynyk made the free throw and the Celtics took a 27-23 lead into the second period.

A key point stretch came with the Celtics leading 34-33. Isaiah Thomas converted a blow-by layup then Terry Rozier stole the in-bounds pass leading to a Jae Crowder layup, energizing the crowd.

The rest of the first half was back-and-forth, with teams exchanging offensive spurts. The Wizards stayed in the game thanks to their transition game, outscoring Boston, 10-0, in the first half. Bradley Beal’s three with 2:20 left in the first half tied the game, 48-48. The Wizards closed the first half on a 10-5 run to take a 55-53 lead to the locker room.

Foul trouble was a big story for the Celtics in the first half as Johnson, Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart all went to the half with three fouls.

Bradley Beal hit the first shot of the third quarter to give the Wizards their biggest lead at 57-53. After the Wizards took a pair of 5-point leads, the Celtics made a run, capped off by a wide-open three from Al Horford with 7:44 left in the third, tied the game at 64.

Trailing 70-64, it was Horford to the rescue again. He drove on Marcin Gortat, converted the layup and free throw with 6:01 left to cut the deficit to three, 70-67.

Jaylen Brown slapped away a pass for Gortat and then showed his athleticism on the other end, running the floor and converting a beautiful reverse layup on a lob feed from Marcus Smart, igniting the crowd again and tying the game, 72-72, with 4:55 left in the third.

After two Thomas free throws tied the game, Bradley Beal connected on a three, followed by a Thomas triple. Thomas connected on another three and then Marcus sent the Garden into pandemonium with a three to cap a 13-3 run, including nine straight to end the quarter, as the Celtics took an 86-79 lead into the fourth.

Brown’s reverse dunk in the opening seconds of the fourth got the crowd going again, giving the Celtics a 87-79 lead. Kelly Olynyk’s two free throws put the Celtics up 10. After a bad turnover by John Wall, Isaiah Thomas drained a deep straightaway three with exactly 10 minutes left, putting the Celtics ahead, 94-81.

Just when it looked like the Wizards were going to get blown out of the building, Morris hit a baseline floater, followed by a Gortat layup and a Morris three to close within six, 94-88, with 8:49 left. Stevens called an immediate timeout and drew up a post play for Smart and a layup.

After an Olynyk three, Beal hit a three and was fouled by Bradley to close the Wizards within four, 101-97 with six minutes left.

The Celtics open the Eastern finals against the Cavaliers Wednesday night at TD Garden at 8:30. The Cavaliers, who won the season series, 3-1, will be playing on ten days rest since sweeping the Raptors in their Eastern semifinal series on May 7.
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Celtics Beat Wizards In Game 7 To Advance To Eastern Conference Finals

SPORTS HUB

WBZ BOSTON

BOSTON (CBS) — The Boston Celtics are moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 115-105 in Game 7 on Monday night at TD Garden to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2012.
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Isaiah Thomas led the way with 29 points, but it was Boston’s bench that made a gigantic difference with 48 points. Kelly Olynyk led the C’s reserves with 26 points, scoring 14 of those points in the fourth quarter alone.

The Celtics closed the third quarter on a 13-3 run that included a 9-0 burst to take an 85-79 lead into the final frame. They kept going, turning that run into 22-5 to open the fourth quarter and extend their lead to 13. The Wizards got within four points in the final frame as Bradley Beal single handily kept them in it with 38 points, but a layup by Olynyk and a one-footer by Thomas (off an Olynyk offensive board) gave Boston a little breathing room.

Olynyk hit a jumper and nailed a three after a pair of Beal free throws to put Boston back up by 10 with 3:26 to play, and they never looked back.

Boston will now take on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for a trip to the NBA Finals. Game 1 is set for Wednesday night at the TD Garden
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Olynyk steps up with career-high 26 points, helps send Celtics to East Finals

CSNNE

By A. Sherrod Blakely May 15, 2017 10:46 PM


BOSTON – The Boston Celtics’ locker room was a ghost town prior to tonight’s Game 7 tip-off against Washington, with Kelly Olynyk among the few in the room.

I talked to him about this game, figuring he would speak about the need for the bench players to step up.

“We have to give them the support they need in order for us to get over the hump,” he said.

And then he began to talk about his native Canada, and how he viewed Game 7 as if he were playing for his national team and they needed to win one game in order to get to the Olympics.

For those unfamiliar with Olynyk’s story, that is one of the many things that drives him as a basketball player.

And if you didn’t know it before, you know it now after the 7-footer had what will be remembered as the night Kelly came alive in a way he had never before.

Olynyk was nothing short of amazing in treating Game 7 like it was the most important game of his basketball life, tallying a career-high 26 points in helping Boston come away with a 115-105 win that sends them to the Eastern Conference Finals where they will host the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers with Game 1 on Wednesday at the TD Garden.

Boston also got yet another strong game from Isaiah Thomas who led the Celtics with 29 points and a playoff career-high 12 assists.

For the Wizards, Bradley Beal led all scorers with 38 points with John Wall chipping in with a double-double of 18 points and 11 assists.

And as Olynyk walked off the floor with 1:37 to play and Boston ahead 110-102, he received a rousing applause, the kind he has never had as a member of the Celtics.

On this night, it was well deserved.

Boston has been damn near begging for Olynyk to be an aggressive, in attack mode scorer that a player with his skills has the potential to be.

In the biggest game of his NBA career, he rose to the occasion.

“This is what it’s about,” Olynyk told CSNNE.com prior to the game.

After strong finish to the third, Boston continued its strong play in the fourth with a 9-2 run to start the quarter which put them ahead 94-81, their largest lead of the game.

Following a Washington time-out with 10:00 minutes to play, they responded with a 7-0 spurt which led to Brad Stevens calling a time-out with 8:49 to play and Boston ahead 94-88.

The game’s turning point came in the third quarter when Washington pulled ahead by 70-64 and seemingly were on track to increase the lead when Jae Crowder was called for an offensive foul and immediately pounded the ball into the parquet, a clear sign of his frustration.

Boston forced a miss, Al Horford converted a 3-point play and within minutes, the score was tied at 72 following a Jaylen Brown lay-up.

Following a Wizards time-out, they went back to trying to pound it inside and crash the glass – one of their best forms of producing points.

It worked, with Marcin Gortat getting fouled and made the first of two free throws that put the Wizards back on top, 73-72. That was followed by a Beal 3-pointer that made it a 76-72 game.

Just when it seemed the Celtics were on the verge of digging themselves a deep ditch, they dug deep and began to start burying 3’s as they closed out the third with a 13-3 run to take an 85-79 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Boston’s surge at the end of the third quarter was similar to how the game began for the Celtics.

The Celtics began the game with an 8-2 run, the kind of start that fired up and already-juiced TD Garden crowd.

Washington spent most of the first half staying within striking distance, but soon pulled ahead with less than a minute to play in the half and held on for a 55-53 lead after two quarters of play.

112288

GREATEST GAME OF KO'S LIFE!

WELL DONE, NOW KEEP IT GOING!

112288

Kelly "Knockout" Olynyk!!

great game as our guys simply out fought the wizards.

Kelly had a career (to date) game, but I was more impressed with the rook. he stepped up with the lights on the brightest and the pressure the biggest. Speaks volumes of what he can become in the next few years.

again, not to take anything away from Kelly, he did the same. Bot Jaylen is a rookie.
I hope Kelly can keep the same aggressiveness and confidence from now on, that he showed last night.

Wall and even Beal eventually ran out of gas.

Beal certainly kept um in it. Wall on the other hand was scoreless over the final 19 minutes.

Can't single out one Celtic as all that played played well. No one had even a slightly off game.

Sure I hope we can win a game or 2 against the Cavs but I'd like a new van too and that isn't happening either. I'm happy just to get to see these guys play at least 4 more times. And who knows, twisted ankle here, sickness, maybe just maybe Lady Luck will smile down on us.

Just getting another helping of gravey on the taters.

beat

Finally a signature game by KO. Zero hesitation.. taking and making big time shot after big time shot. Been waiting for a long time to see him win a game for us and he saved his best for the most important game of the year.

This was a great team win. Great intensity. Winning a game 7 is a huge accomplishment for this young team.

Bottom line...This team has exceeded expectations.

dboss

Forgot to mention that the refs called a horrible game. To the Celtics credit they were unfazed. This reflects the type of mental toughness that defines winning and losing.

dboss

dboss wrote:Forgot to mention that the refs called a horrible game.  To the Celtics credit they were unfazed.  This reflects the type of mental toughness that defines winning and losing.

dboss

For sure on the refs missed calls both ways but when IT got literally run over right in front of the ref and no call I knew it was going to be tough.

Can't wait to read the comments from the other side!

beat

Beat

That was a hideous non-call. The refs should be banned from officiating anymore playoff games. There is no way 3 refs can miss a call like that.

It was truly shameful.

dboss

Great TEAM victory! This is what is possible when the game is played the right way. Can't say enough about the girly man. ( I truly hate that expression and hope that I never see it again) Let's hope that this experience lights a fire under Kelly and he brings it like this from now on. Got to love the way Jaylen has gone from the dog house to the limelight. This is only the beginning for him. He just needs to get minutes.

Somewhere in the distant past I predicted 60 wins and a trip to the EC Finals. We only got 53 in the regular season but have 61 wins now and will play for the right to participate in the NBA Finals. Cleveland is playing well but coming off a long layoff, they can be had. We need to defend our home court in these first two games. The Cavs can be beaten and LeBron is always at risk of scoring well while his teams lose to the Celtics.

We need 8 more for #18

17goingon18

WOOHOO!!!

Kelly for President!  Oh, wait a second, he's Canadian and can't be President.  Hmmm.  Ok.  Kelly for Ambassador to the US from Canada!  They had NO answer for him.  I've been saying for years Kelly's biggest enemy is his own inconsistent confidence.  When he's shooting, and shooting well, and plays aggressively, his combination of size and range makes him very, very hard to guard.  He just added a million or two onto his next contract with this game.  You know you had a good game when David Aldridge wants to talk to you on the sideline after the game.  A podium game for Kelly, and it couldn't have happened at a better moment.  Without a game like this from someone other than IT and we wouldn't have won.  A Kelly Olynyk Game 7 podium game.  Who would have expected we'd be saying that today?


Jared Weiss‏Verified account @JaredWeissNBA  13h13 hours ago
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Olynyk to TNT: "Brad called me this morning and told me what you have to be is your best when your best is needed.”
#Celtics
4 replies 114 retweets 285 likes
Reply  4   Retweet  114  
Like 285




Scott Souza @Scott_Souza
yesterday
#Celtics Kelly Olynyk: To do it for the fans, the city of Boston, was unbelievable.
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Scott Brooks played his bench a grand total of 36 minutes.  Bogie played 16, the ineffective Ian Mahinmi played 11 and then Jennings and Smith rounded out the last 9.  NO Kelly Oubre.  A mistake by Brooks, in my opinion.  He unleashed IT.  He also burned out Beal and Wall.

Jay King @ByJayKing
11 hours ago
Marcus Smart said John Wall "definitely" wore down. Said coaches told them, "He's going to wear down. In Game 7, legs are gone."
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Al Horford's shot chart vs Wizards.  A stud.  95% at the rim is insane.




Remember this:

Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
9 hours ago
Jaylen Brown sums up how wild his current life situation is quite well: "Two years ago I was just in high school."
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I didn't think IT was having such a great game, but then I looked at the final box score and went "shit!":

Jay King @ByJayKing
about 10 hours ago
Isaiah Thomas in second half of Game 7: 17 points, six assists, zero turnovers, 6-for-12 shooting, 3-for-3 from deep, +11.
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Marc D'Amico @celtics
yesterday
Brad Stevens says of Isaiah Thomas, "The 12-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio is as powerful as his 29 points."
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Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Marcus Smart asked to describe his game: "A junkyard dog." #Celtics
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Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
"You've gotta be willing to go out there and die for it," might be the most Marcus Smart quote ever.
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Chris Forsberg @ESPNForsberg
yesterday
Brad Stevens on Marcus Smart: “When it’s all on the line, he’s going to make it. That’s a unique trait."
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A. Sherrod Blakely @SherrodbCSN
yesterday
"I hate losing, especially when I feel like we were the better team." - @Washington Wizards @Bradley Beal #Celticstalk #Wizardstalk
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NO, you are NOT the better team.  That's why we had 53 wins and you only had 49.  That's why we're in the EC Finals and you're not.  Ball Don't Lie.



Michael Pina‏Verified account
@MichaelVPina

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Stevens says the Garden has never been louder than it was tonight, since he was hired.

Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
yesterday
Brad Stevens tells his basketball friends from Indiana of the TD Garden: “There’s no place like this building in the playoffs."
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Bill Doyle @BillDoyle15
yesterday
Stevens on loud Garden crowd: It was ridiculous, it was fantastic, it was unbelievable.
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Horford came here for the fans, he got the fans.  Specifically, he got ROSALIE!!!  Our own little green good luck charm...



Time to shock the world, again:



Today's draft lottery day.  May 15th and 16th are the two biggest defining days in the life of Celtic fans in a long time.  We can do no worse than 4th in a more-than-3-deep draft.


bob


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