This shock in the conference semi-finals, between two historic franchises in the league, will have ended in a “blowout” for Game 7 which will have quickly tipped in favor of Boston after the break.
Determined to repeat the same move as in Game 5, the Sixers had nevertheless taken the meeting from the right end, with an X factor in the first quarter named PJ Tucker, author of 11 points including three 3-point baskets which helped put Philly at +9 after 12 minutes (20-29). Boston ended up finding the spark after a pass between Jaylen Brown, hit in the face and James Harden, sanctioned with a Flagrant 1 for an unintentional blow to the face of his opponent (27-35). That’s when the C’s began their comeback, marked by two high-altitude finishes from Robert Williams III and a surge from an unstoppable Jayson Tatum.
The winger distributed three assists and lined up 13 points to end a first half that looked like a demonstration, with a 3-point step-away to complete his festival and put the hosts at +3 at the time of the game. rest (55-52). On his way, JT squarely paid Joel Embiid three times after returning from the locker room, finishing near the circle then on two 3-point missiles on which the Cameroonian found himself powerless.
Inexorably, Boston then increased its lead, Jaylen Brown registering a 3-point more while Jayson Tatum added one more to pass the C’s to +15 (73-58).
Doc Rivers’ timeout didn’t change anything, with Jaylen Brown, Malcom Brogdon and Derrick White scoring three more 3-pointers to take the series to 28-3 as the Sixers racked up blunders at a blistering pace ( 83-58). As one could imagine, the troops of Doc Rivers never managed to recover from such an affront, then dragging their sentence over the last 12 minutes of the match to finally lose 112-88.
As a symbol, Jayson Tatum exceeded the 50 point mark on a new 3-point missile scored on the head of Joel Embiid, before leaving the field, offering himself a new record for points scored on a Game 7 in the history of the league.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Hand game, villain game. While the Celtics were battered, at -8 at the start of the second quarter, an involuntary blow from James Harden on Jaylen Brown set fire to the powder. Celtic found themselves with a nosebleed as ‘The Beard’ got away with a Flagrant 1. An incident that had the merit of waking up the locals, although moments later it was Jaylen Brown who put James Harden down fighting to save a ball. If the referees did not whistle anything this time, Georges Niang did himself justice by subtly trying to hold Brown back from the Sixers bench, which earned a technique for the two players, adding spice to a match that did not was already missing.
– When the MVP of the series offers the MVP of the season. Heroic at the end of Game 6, Jayson Tatum made it a point of honor to finish the job on Game 7 at home to allow Boston to reach the conference finals again. Author of 25 points at halftime, JT resumed in the same tone by paying the MVP of the season Joel Embiid three times, including twice on 3-point baskets which made the TD Garden roar with pleasure . Three actions that guided Boston in the right direction and that will surely go down as highlights of this game in the history books to accompany the performance of Jayson Tatum, the first player to reach 51 points scored in a Game 7, 15 days after Stephen Curry’s 50 points.
– An endless series. Beyond the Brown-Harden incident which had the merit of waking up TD Garden and its proteges, the meeting definitely changed to the 28-3 conceded by Philadelphia after returning from the locker room. An endless series during which Boston distinguished itself by its mastery and address while opposite, Philly multiplied the dumplings. On arrival, while the two teams were 55-55 at the start of the third quarter, the score was 83-58 a few moments later.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jayson Tatum. An impressive build-up that began in the second quarter and continued after the break to completely annihilate the Sixers. After a complicated start to the series, JT finished very strong between the end of his Game 6 and this masterpiece with 42 points after three quarters for 51 points at the finish. Monumental.
✅ Jaylen Brown. His donut received from James Harden had the merit of waking up his team and changing the course of the meeting. This misadventure was not his only feat since he also helped bring his team back into the game before the break and then accentuate the gap after the break.
✅The Horford-Williams III pair. Activity, presence, deterrence and an association that will have worked rather well to “contain” Joel Embiid on this end of the series, as was the case on this Game 7.
⛔ Joel Embid. The Sixers star completely missed his date. As with James Harden in the previous match, he was the Joel Embiid of bad days, with too many forced shots (5/18), lost balls (4), for an overall result close to disaster.
⛔ The Maxey-Harden duo. Philly’s hopes were pinned on them too, but neither came up short, with shooting clumsiness for them too (5/12 and 3/11) and too many loose balls for the team’s number 1 creator (5), as in the previous game. Impossible under these conditions for the Sixers to hope for something.
THE FOLLOWING
The conference final against Miami for Boston starting Wednesday at TD Garden, the holidays (and big headaches) for Philadelphia.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
