BOSTON — Jaylen Brown had used his public platform forward of Sunday afternoon’s recreation to ship a transparent message to Celtics followers: Get loud. The vitality at TD Backyard for the crew’s house video games throughout its N.B.A. Jap Convention semifinal collection with the Philadelphia 76ers had been merely OK, he mentioned.
On Sunday, Brown obtained what he needed for Recreation 7. It was loud early, and it was loud late. The gang cheered each dunk and 3-pointer, each defensive cease and offensive rebound.
By the point Boston’s Jayson Tatum stood close to the middle circle late within the fourth quarter, within the waning moments of a tour de power and the very best recreation of his profession, he beckoned the followers for much more noise. They had been completely satisfied to oblige.
The gang was nonetheless cheering when the Celtics left the courtroom with a 112-88 victory that determined the best-of-seven collection and warranted Boston that its championship dream would reside on.
Tatum, a first-team All-N.B.A. choice who had not precisely performed flawless basketball in the course of the collection, was extraordinary on Sunday, scoring 51 factors — an N.B.A. report for a Recreation 7. Brown added 25 factors within the win. The Celtics led by as many as 30.
“That’s once I’m at my greatest, once I’m having enjoyable,” mentioned Tatum, including that he tried to channel his childhood love for the sport. “While you go on the market and calm down and sort of take into consideration these days while you had been on the Y.M.C.A. or no matter, the sport opens up.”
A blowout loss will certainly result in an low season of uncertainty for the third-seeded 76ers, who had title hopes of their very own. However Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who not too long ago collected his first N.B.A. Most Beneficial Participant Award, struggled in Recreation 7, ending with simply 15 factors whereas taking pictures 5 of 18 from the sphere. Sixers guard James Harden scored solely 9 factors.
“That’s the very best crew within the league,” Embiid mentioned of the Celtics. “They’re so gifted, and so they’ve obtained a whole lot of guys who can play nice basketball. Shedding to them, seven video games, I assumed for essentially the most half we performed onerous.”
The Celtics, the No. 2 seed within the East, put the sport out of attain with a searing run within the third quarter that included back-to-back 3-pointers by Brown and Tatum. The fourth quarter was a celebration that masqueraded because the closing levels of an in any other case tightly contested playoff collection.
“When J.T. is enjoying like that, we’re going to be extraordinarily onerous to beat,” Brown mentioned of Tatum.
Within the course of, the Celtics earned a gathering with the eighth-seeded Miami Warmth within the Jap Convention finals, beginning on Wednesday in Boston. After surviving the play-in bracket, the Warmth ousted the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks within the first spherical, then eradicated the Knicks in six video games of their convention semifinal collection. Boston beat the seventh-seeded Atlanta Hawks in six video games within the first spherical.
The Warmth have a star in Jimmy Butler, who, yr after yr, appears to raise his stage of play within the postseason — a fearsome two-way participant who seldom has an off evening.
The Celtics, in fact, have an explosive star of their very own in Tatum, however he had his struggles in opposition to the 76ers. On Sunday, he was the very best participant within the constructing. He shot 17 of 28 from the sphere and 6 of 10 from 3-point vary, and completed with 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
“We simply dealt with the ebbs and flows of the collection,” Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned. “We by no means obtained too emotionally excessive or too emotionally low. We had been in a position to maintain our emotional togetherness intact.”
Missed alternatives will hang-out the 76ers, who had a 3-2 collection lead with an opportunity to wrap it up at house on Thursday. In that recreation, Tatum missed 13 of his first 14 field-goal makes an attempt. However the Celtics had been strong defensively and Tatum obtained sizzling late to increase the collection with a 95-86 win.
“To be sincere, they’d us on the ropes,” mentioned Tatum, including: “And I used to be relieved, as a result of our season might’ve been over.”
Recreation 7s are inherently essential, however a lot appeared to hinge on this one for each groups. For the Celtics, a loss would have represented a stark regression from all that they achieved final season, after they superior to the N.B.A. finals earlier than dropping to the Golden State Warriors in six video games.
However progress is seldom linear, and the Celtics confronted an unusually rocky path this season: an surprising teaching change earlier than the beginning of coaching camp, a season-ending harm to Danilo Gallinari earlier than he even appeared in a recreation and a protection that lacked its acquainted oomph.
For the 76ers, Sunday’s recreation, honest or not, arrange as one thing of a referendum on the Course of, the team-building train that, as one in every of its foundational items, landed them Embiid within the 2014 N.B.A. draft. However now was the time for a deep playoff run.
Sixers Coach Doc Rivers acknowledged the stress earlier than the sport and anticipated the significance of his key gamers pushing themselves “to the max of exhaustion.”
Embiid spent his remaining few quiet moments earlier than the tip dribbling close to the halfcourt circle. He even hoisted a few faux photographs earlier than handing the ball to his teammate Tyrese Maxey.
The remainder of Embiid’s afternoon was grim. Harden’s was someway worse. The 76ers have now made six straight playoff appearances with out advancing to the convention finals.
“I assumed James got here to play, I actually did,” Rivers mentioned, referring to Harden. “I assumed he was making an attempt to see the sport, and I assumed he performed downhill lots. The place he handed the ball tonight was the correct choice, and we didn’t get something out of it.”
The collection was stuffed with uneven performances. Atop that record was Harden, who scored 45 factors in Recreation 1 earlier than he promptly disappeared, taking pictures a mixed 5 of 28 from the sphere in a pair of losses. He resurfaced for Recreation 4, scoring 42 factors, however was passive once more in Video games 5 and 6. So the query was: Which model of Harden would present up for Recreation 7?
He was laboring early within the second quarter when he appeared to lose his grip on the ball going for a layup. Caught within the air, Harden swung an elbow that caught Brown within the face.
“Nothing like a shot within the face to wake you proper up,” Brown mentioned.
Harden was whistled for a flagrant foul. Brown made each free throws, after which Tatum threw a lob to Robert Williams for a dunk. Rivers cited the flagrant foul as a turning level.
“After that, we by no means performed proper once more,” Rivers mentioned.
The Celtics had been persevering with to mount a run when Brown, who was enjoying with a cotton swab stuffed up his left nostril to stanch the bleeding from his collision with Harden, tumbled in entrance of the opposing bench. As Brown gathered himself and turned to run upcourt, the 76ers’ Georges Niang reached out from his folding chair to seize Brown’s left leg.
Brown yelled at Niang, and each gamers had been assessed technical fouls. On the time, Boston was truly trailing. However the followers had been loud, and the Celtics made positive they stayed that method.
