They say a series doesn’t begin until a team wins on the road. Well, in the Celtics-Wizards series, that never happened. It took all seven games to find a winner and the home team won every single game. It makes for a pretty good argument against those who say home court doesn’t matter.
NBA playoff scores 2017: Congratulations, Celtics, you now have to play LeBron James
The Celtics won Game 7 against the Wizards to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
The Celtics won, 115-105, Monday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. This marks the first time the team has been in the conference finals since 2010. This will be new territory for every player on this Celtics team, including head coach Brad Stevens.
The only people who have been here before are the Celtics’ opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is the third-straight Conference Finals for the Cavaliers and the seventh straight for LeBron James. In fact, James has played in nine of the last 11 Eastern Conference Finals.
Add on top of all the experience, Cleveland has yet to lose a game in these playoffs, sitting at 8-0. While doing that, James has looked as good as ever in his 14th year in the league, effortlessly sending the Pacers and Raptors home while barely breaking a sweat. The Cavaliers claimed to not care about getting that coveted No. 1 seed in the East all season, and sure enough, the Celtics took it instead.
It will be interesting to see how much it actually matters when it comes down to it. It sounds like extra motivation for James and company, to me. But Isaiah Thomas feels differently.
Game 1 will tip off Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Boston.
Kelly Olynyk saved the Celtics? Yes, did.
Thomas was as good as ever in Game 7, dropping 29 points and 12 assists, but it was Kelly Olynyk who provided the crunch time, fourth quarter play the Celtics needed.
The Boston Celtics held on as victors of a bizarre back-and-forth Game 7 against Washington Wizards in which backup big Olynyk heard chants around TD Garden in the fourth quarter. Thomas stayed the Celtics’ offensive star with 29 points and 12 assists, but Olynyk was the series-saving MVP nobody saw coming.
Olynyk was there whenever the Celtics needed to score in the final frame, inside and out, flashing the versatility he can never show consistently. On Monday, he could, scoring 14 points in the final quarter as he helped lead his team to a 115-105 victory.
He finished the game with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and couldn’t miss no matter who was thrown at him. Marcin Gortat struggled to chase him outside, and somehow even Markieff Morris couldn’t hold him down in the post.
Olynyk podium game, y’all.
John Wall ran out of steam in Game 7
John Wall was one of the most exciting player of the 2017 playoffs. Seeing him take the next step and lead this Wizards team was a pleasure for everyone. His game winner to force a Game 7 proved he belonged in the argument for not only best point guard in the East, but maybe the league.
Wall was nowhere to be found in the final quarter-plus of Game 7 against the Boston Celtics. He was everything in almost every playoff game before, and the thing in Game 6 when he stepped up to hit the game-winning three-pointer, but he couldn’t find any rhythm to close out the final half of the series, scoring zero points on 11 missed shots in 19 minutes.
It was a bizarre night altogether, with Olynyk pouring in 26 points from inside and out. No Wizard could find an answer to his aggression on the block or finesse from downtown. Not even the best point guard in the East, who still finished with 18 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, could out duel the long-haired flamethrower. It just wasn’t Wall’s night despite an impressive statline others would champion themselves over.
While Game 7 was bad, and he’ll receive similar criticism to what James Harden did, this shouldn’t erase how great he was in the playoffs. With two 40-point games and game winner, Wall clearly made the leap this year. And he’ll make another next year.
Play of the Game
Olynyk’s three-pointer to put the Celtics up 10 late in the game
Rebound of the Game
We usually don’t brag about this kind of thing but this rebound from Jaylen Brown deserves it.
Game 7 final score
Celtics 115, Wizards 105 (Celtics Blog recap | Bullets Forever recap)
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