BSJ Game 7 Report: Celtics 112, Sixers 88 - Celtics run away late behind Tatum's 51 to advance to ECF

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Sixers in Game 7 of the conference semifinals, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out attacking but not hitting, shooting 9-25 in the first quarter while Philly was 11-22. The strategy of leaving PJ Tucker to help was not working as he hit 3 of his first 5 shots to give the Sixers an early 6-point lead. Jayson Tatum erupted for 14 points in the second and Boston got 9 from Jaylen Brown. Meanwhile, Al Horford and the Celtics were bothering Joel Embiid, and Boston took a 3-point halftime lead. The Celtics then stormed out of the half and nearly multiplied that by 10 behind one of the most dominating quarters of basketball you’ll see. Tatum went for 17 in the third putting Boston up by as many as 28 and Philly never challenged after that. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

A perfect plan on Joel Embiid: The Celtics never let Embiid get going. He finished with 15 points on 5-18 shooting, just 5-6 from the line, and 4 turnovers. At times, it was Horford straight up, at times it was someone coming from Embiid’s blind side after a few dribbles to dive in for a steal, and at others it was Robert Williams sliding in to challenge shots. 

"Defensively, they took away our bread and butter, which is the pick-and-roll between me and James (Harden),” Embiid said. “They made a great adjustment and they forced us, to, really, for James to attack and make plays out of that, and either finish over Rob or kick it out to the corner."

The kick-outs were working early in the game. Tucker was 3-5 on 3-pointers in the first quarter. He only took one more the rest of the way (he missed it).

Sticking with it: The shots weren’t falling early, but Boston didn’t get down on themselves like they have in the past. 

“We had to settle in a little bit. We started out the game well, but they took our shot. They took our shot and responded well, right back,” Brown said. “We had to slow down a little bit. I think that we were playing a little bit too fast. And on offense and defense, we have to just remember we got to play basketball. And I think once we got settled down I think we were fine.” 

Philly meltdown: Once again, Embiid is out in the second round of the playoffs. It’s hard to believe things will be the same in Philadelphia after this one after the two stars, including the MVP, combined for 24 points, less than half Tatum’s 51, and a third of Tatum and Brown’s combined 76. 

Harden was especially absent, though that should surprise no one. He didn’t score in the fourth quarter of Games 5, 6, or 7. He had 9 points in an elimination game. He hit THREE shots all game.

Why would anyone believe in this guy at this point? Why would anyone pay him to play basketball for them? He’s the most overrated superstar of this time, a compiler of stats because he can manipulate the officiating. That schtick doesn’t fly under playoff rules, so he’s never been a true playoff performer. 

But hey, congrats on a couple of 40-point games. They meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

On to Miami: I’m still in awe of Miami losing a play-in game and then getting to the Conference Finals. This shows you how dangerous a team they are. Boston should have every advantage in this series on paper, but Miami will be extraordinarily tough to beat. 

TURNING POINT

Down 35-27, Boston got four points and an 8-0 run after the flagrant-1 foul on Harden, who elbowed Brown in the face on a drive. 

“Yeah nothing like a shot to the face to wake you right up,” Brown joked. Boston out-scored Philly 28-17 to close out the half. That momentum after the flagrant sent Boston into the half with a ton of confidence, which showed in the third quarter.

FOUR UP

Jayson Tatum: No one has ever scored more points in a Game 7 in NBA history. The funny thing is that Joe Mazzulla didn't want him focusing on his shot. 

“I told him when the game starts, don’t listen to people and try to get out on a good start scoring,” Mazzulla said. “You’re not defined by scoring in my book, and that’s most important. Don’t let your identity be caught up in what others say about you. Your identity is in who you are as a person and how well you can dominate the game in areas that don’t get all the attention. And I thought I saw that from him tonight, and when you do that, you get moments like that. When he plays a well-rounded game, our team is different. And credit to him for buying into that.”

Tatum, as usual, did a lot of other things in this game, including grabbing 13 rebounds, dishing 5 assists, and getting 2 steals. Also, zero turnovers, making him the only player to score 50+ with no turnovers in an NBA playoff game. 

Jaylen Brown: He again took on the defensive challenge of guarding Harden and he did a wonderful job. He supported Tatum’s scoring with a 25-point, 6 rebounds, 2-assist night, but it was the 2 steals and 2 blocks that really helped. 

Al Horford: More on him in a minute because he was just outrageously good on defense. Let’s just mention here that he hit a couple of big 3-pointers, grabbed 10 rebounds, and handed out 3 assists. He did just enough when the Celtics needed him on offense. 

Robert Williams: He changed the series defensively. Even if the numbers didn’t jump out of the box score, Williams shut down paths to the rim and made it so the Sixers had no choice but to rely on their supporting cast to beat them. That part was going well in the first half, but not in the second.

Joe Mazzulla: He’s taken a boatload of crap, but he had his guys ready and focused. He went to Rob when needed to. He lit into his team when necessary. 

“I think it’s fair to say that if Joe freaked out, nobody would have blamed him,” Marcus Smart said. “He’s a first-year coach put into this situation, he’s put into the hot seat and then you have a team that’s not playing up to its standards, then you’re getting the criticism and then you come back and win two games. I think nobody would have been surprised if he blew up, but he kept his composure, he kept his poise and like I said, we believe in Joe and Joe believes in us, and this is the reason why, right here. He might be a first-year coach, but that’s a guy who’s going to go to war and battle and that’s who you want on your team.”

ONE DOWN

Derrick White: It obviously didn’t matter much, but the Celtics were stuck with zero bench points at halftime and White only finished with 3 points and was a -8. I think the Miami series will be better for him. 

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER 

- Al Horford is still the best Joel Embiid defender around

Horford looked like a kid out there. He didn’t look anything like a guy who is a couple of years from potentially retiring the way he was going at Embiid defensively.

“I understood that in this series it wasn’t going to be my offense. It was more defensively that I had to take that challenge and defend him for us to have a chance,” Horford said. “He can do so many things and for me, it was very difficult, but it was one of those things that I just had to figure out. I had to put my imprint in the series.”

This is one hell of an imprint. His 3 blocks in this game were the third game with at least that many rejections. This was his fourth game with at least 2 steals. 

Embiid shot 54.8% from the field in the regular season, 33% from 3, and he went to the line 11.7 times per game. He shot 42.1% against Boston, 20% from 3, and went to the line 10 times per game. 

Horford was the focal point of this defensive effort, and though having Harden helped Embiid get a little more space to operate, and yes he was dealing with a knee issue, Horford continued to be what he’s been his whole career: The most effective single defender against Embiid in the NBA. 

- Jaylen Brown’s crowd gambit worked (and it got Tatum to profess a lot of love for the city)

This place was nuts. 

“I called the Garden out last game and way to respond,” he said. “The energy in the building was through the roof, it was amazing. Everybody that was in the building, and anybody that was cheering for the Celtics, I feel like we could feel that energy tonight and it definitely carried over. So we're gonna definitely need some more of that going forward. So, nah that was fun, that was a great basketball environment.”

No one felt the love quite like Tatum, who obviously did a ton for the crowd to cheer. He responded with the most effusive praise and display of love for fans, the Celtics, and the city. Here’s everything he said in full: 

“I gotta give a lot of credit to the crowd. We needed that. This was probably the loudest the Garden has been in like a year. And we fed off that energy. The energy that they gave us today really helped us, and we’re going to need that the rest of the way. They feed off us, we feed off them, and you could just feel it. The building was rocking, everyone was standing up, and my emotions kind of got the best of me in that moment – in a good way.

“I can’t express it enough – the genuine love that I kind of feel from the crowd. Whether it’s pregame, during the game at the free-throw line. I’ve been here my whole career. I feel that they embrace me almost as one of their own, and that means a lot. I love being here, I love getting to put on this uniform. I love being able to play big games, to put on good performances in front of them, and they feed off emotion and energy, right? And it’s reciprocated. I can’t express enough that I just love being here and love playing in front of this crowd.”

That sounds like a guy who’s sticking around for a while.

Next up: Celtics and Heat begin their series Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m.