Tag: CELTICS
Spoelstra on GM 7: ‘We are going up there and get it done’
We got an absolute classic on Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Jimmy Butler, who was 5/21 from the field but finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, was fouled by Al Horford, shooting a three. Butler would make all three free throws with 3.0 seconds to go, which gave the Celtics enough time. Boston’s Marcus Smart would miss a three, Derrick White would tip it in at the buzzer, and Boston would defeat the Heat 104-103 in Miami to even the series at three.
After being down 3-0, the Celtics have forced a Game 7 on Monday night back in Boston and could be the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit. Last season, the Celtics defeated the Heat in the conference finals in Game 7 in Miami.
According to Butler, if he had played better, the Heat would have finished the series.
“Like I told the guys on the bench, I told the guys in the locker room, that if I play better, we’re not even in this position, honestly speaking,” Butler said after the loss. “And I will be better. That’s what makes me smile because those guys follow my lead. So when I’m playing better, I think we’re playing better as a whole.”
Butler knows the Heat must find a way to get through the Celtics.
“I think, I believe, as we all do like you’re going to get the same test until you pass it, I swear,” he said. “We were in this same position last year. We can do it. I know that we will do it. We’ve got to go on the road and win in a very, very, very tough environment. But we are capable of it. So let’s get busy.”
Miami won the first two games of this series and has proven they can succeed in Boston, and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is confident in his guys.
“This is one hell of a series,” he said. “At this time right now, I don’t know how we are going to get this done, but we are going up there and get it done. And that’s what the next 48 hours is about.”
Boston is 5-0 in these playoffs in elimination games and defeated the 76ers in Game 7 in the second round. This is a battled-tested group that has “unfinished business.”
It will be tough for the Heat to win after such a deflating loss, but as Spoelstra said, Miami will have to get it done.
Butler: ‘We’ll just have to close it out at home’
After three games in the Eastern Conference finals, the Miami Heat led the series 3-0 and were on the verge of what appeared to be a sweep. However, the Celtics fought back in the second half of Game 4 in Miami and kept the series alive.
On Thursday night in Game 5 in Boston, the Celtics led from start to finish and defeated the Heat 110-97.
Boston, who led by as many as 24 points, had four players score at least 20 or more. Derrick White led the way with 24 points, Marcus Smart had 23, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown added 21 points a piece.
The series shifts back to Miami for Game 6 on Saturday, and Jimmy Butler, who had 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists, believes the Heat will end the series in Miami.
“We’ve just got to play better,” Butler said. “Start the game off better on the starters; make it more difficult for them. They are in a rhythm since the beginning of the game. But we are always going to stay positive, knowing that we can, and we will win this series. We’ll just have to close it out at home.”
Butler explained why he has so much confidence.
“Because the last two games are not who we are,” he said. “It just happened to be that way. We stopped playing defense halfway because we didn’t make shots that we want to make. But that’s easily correctable. You just have to come out and play harder from the jump. Like I always say, it’s going to be all smiles, and we are going to keep it very, very, very consistent, knowing that we are going to win next game.”
On paper, the Celtics are the better team. In the first two games, the Celtics were close but could not close it out. In Game 3, Boston was terrible, and now they may have righted the ship.
We’ll see what happens in Game 6.
Celtics’ Brown on Game 4: ‘We didn’t want to come out and lay an egg’
The Boston Celtics have lived to see another day after defeating the Miami Heat 116-99 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in Miami on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Celtics avoid the sweep and trail the Heat 3-1. Game 5 is Thursday night back in Boston.
Jaylen Brown, who had 17 points, said the team wanted to show some pride in Game 4, and he credited the leadership of Marcus Smart.
“We didn’t want to come out and lay an egg,” Brown said. “We wanted to come out and play together, wanted to come out and trust each other, come out and play some defense, have some pride about yourself, and find a way to win a game. We’re all more than capable of doing it. So, tonight we got it done. Smart was in my ear, letting me know where the game is at. Just keep being aggressive; keep making the right plays.
“It ain’t always got to be you putting the ball in the basket; that helped us win tonight. So just continue to make the right plays, and the game will open up for you, and that’s what Smart does is just being a leader, be vocal, and we found a way to win.”
Smart, who had 11 points, says Boston has to take it one game at a time.
“Now we’ve just got to go win another one,” he said. “That’s all that matters. We take it one game at a time. We understand the odds are stacked against us, but we’re a team that believes in us no matter what, and we’ve just got to keep going, and all that matters is the next game.”
Boston does not win Game 4 without the play of Jayson Tatum. The four-time All-Star scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half. In addition, he added 11 rebounds and seven assists. Like Smart, he’s just taking it one game at a time.
“We just tried to take it one game at a time,” Tatum said. “We tried to break it down. We didn’t play well the first three games, we didn’t deserve to win, but we didn’t want that to define us, define the season. We’ve still got a long uphill battle to go. But tonight was a good start. Just to try to carry this momentum towards Thursday.”
If Boston can win Game 5, this series becomes interesting. The Celtics are a tough-minded and resilient bunch; they don’t give up or give in very easily.
Can they be the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit?
They have a shot because they have homecourt advantage, so if the Celtics can somehow get the series back to Boston for a Game 7, anything is possible, but, as they said, the Celtics have to take it one game at a time.
76ers’ season ends in familiar place
The Philadelphia 76ers’ season ended in a familiar place, the second round, as they were blown out by the Celtics 112-88 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on Sunday in Boston.
With the win, the Celtics move on to the Eastern Conference finals, and for the third straight season, the 76ers bow out in the second round.
Philly trailed 55-52 at halftime, but Boston outscored the Sixers 33-10 in the third quarter. Boston led by as many as 30 points.
For most of this series, the 76ers had an answer for Jayson Tatum, but in Game 7, he scored a Game 7 record 51 points, and Philly had no answer for him.
The 76ers’ two stars did not play like stars in Game 7. League MVP Joel Embiid had 15 on 5/18 shooting, and James Harden shot 3/11 and scored only nine points.
Now, Philly heads into the offseason with many more questions than answers.
Harden can opt out of his contract, which he probably will do, and become an unrestricted free agent. Many believe that he will go back to the Rockets. Harden was alright against Boston. He did have two 40-plus point games and won two games for the Sixers in this series(34.6 PPG in wins). However, in the four losses, Harden wasn’t very good(12.5 PPG); he’s no longer in his prime, but the 33-year-old is still a good player. However, the way the team is presently constructed, Harden may not be good enough for the 76ers to win a title.
The two players who are probably untouchable are Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Outside of that, all the players are available. Tobias Harris has an expiring contract, which could make him desirable.
Doc Rivers could also be on the move after failing to get this team out of the second round in the last three seasons. If they bring Rivers back, it’s not a bad thing, and moving on from Rivers would not be a bad option as well. Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey inherited Rivers, so he may want to bring in his own coach.
Embiid is a great player, but he’s always injured in the playoffs and wasn’t the same player in the playoffs. According to ESPN, Embiid, who battled a knee injury, averaged 33.1 PPG in the regular season and 23.7 PPG in the playoffs, which is the largest drop-off(9.4 PPG) by an MVP in league history.
However, if you move the 29-year-old, that signals a rebuild. Maybe he will learn from the losing and continue to grow as a player both physically and mentally.
Philly had a great chance to get to the Finals this season if they could have beaten Boston, but after having a 3-2 series lead, they blew it in Game 6 at home. That Game 6 loss will haunt this team in the offseason and maybe beyond.
Hawks’ Murray suspended one game for bumping referee
On Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks dropped Game 4 to the Boston Celtics 129-121 at home and now trail their first-round series 3-1.
Well, on Monday, they got some more bad news.
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray will miss Game 5 in Boston(Tuesday) as he was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official, the league announced on Monday.
The incident occurred at the game’s conclusion as Murray was seen bumping referee Gediminas Petraitis.
In the series against the Celtics, Murray is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Atlanta would have a hard time beating the Celtics with Murray, and without him, it might be close to impossible, but anything can happen.
NBA announces complete schedule for first round of playoffs
On Wednesday, the NBA announced the complete schedule for the first round of the playoffs, which begin on Saturday.
Below is the schedule:
WESTERN CONFERENCE |
||||||
#1 Denver vs. West 8th Seed |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sun |
4/16 |
West 8th |
Denver |
1 |
10:30PM |
TNT |
Wed |
4/19 |
West 8th |
Denver |
2 |
10:00PM |
TNT |
Fri |
4/21 |
Denver |
West 8th |
3 |
9:30PM |
ESPN |
Sun |
4/23 |
Denver |
West 8th |
4 |
9:30PM |
TNT |
Tue |
4/25 |
West 8th |
Denver |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Thu |
4/27 |
Denver |
West 8th |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sat |
4/29 |
West 8th |
Denver |
7* |
TBD |
TNT |
#2 Memphis vs. #7 L.A. Lakers |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sun |
4/16 |
L.A. Lakers |
Memphis |
1 |
3:00PM |
ABC/R |
Wed |
4/19 |
L.A. Lakers |
Memphis |
2 |
7:30PM |
TNT/R |
Sat |
4/22 |
Memphis |
L.A. Lakers |
3 |
10:00PM |
ESPN |
Mon |
4/24 |
Memphis |
L.A. Lakers |
4 |
TBD |
TBD |
Wed |
4/26 |
L.A. Lakers |
Memphis |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Fri |
4/28 |
Memphis |
L.A. Lakers |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sun |
4/30 |
L.A. Lakers |
Memphis |
7* |
TBD |
TBD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3 Sacramento vs. #6 Golden State |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sat |
4/15 |
Golden State |
Sacramento |
1 |
8:30PM |
ABC |
Mon |
4/17 |
Golden State |
Sacramento |
2 |
10:00PM |
TNT |
Thu |
4/20 |
Sacramento |
Golden State |
3 |
10:00PM |
TNT |
Sun |
4/23 |
Sacramento |
Golden State |
4 |
3:30PM |
ABC/R |
Wed |
4/26 |
Golden State |
Sacramento |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Fri |
4/28 |
Sacramento |
Golden State |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sun |
4/30 |
Golden State |
Sacramento |
7* |
TBD |
TBD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 Phoenix vs. #5 LA Clippers |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sun |
4/16 |
LA Clippers |
Phoenix |
1 |
8:00PM |
TNT |
Tue |
4/18 |
LA Clippers |
Phoenix |
2 |
10:00PM |
TNT |
Thu |
4/20 |
Phoenix |
LA Clippers |
3 |
10:30PM |
NBATV |
Sat |
4/22 |
Phoenix |
LA Clippers |
4 |
3:30PM |
TNT |
Tue |
4/25 |
LA Clippers |
Phoenix |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Thu |
4/27 |
Phoenix |
LA Clippers |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sat |
4/29 |
LA Clippers |
Phoenix |
7* |
TBD |
TNT |
EASTERN CONFERENCE |
||||||
#1 Milwaukee vs. East 8th Seed |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sun |
4/16 |
East 8th |
Milwaukee |
1 |
5:30PM |
TNT |
Wed |
4/19 |
East 8th |
Milwaukee |
2 |
9:00PM |
NBATV |
Sat |
4/22 |
Milwaukee |
East 8th |
3 |
7:30PM |
ESPN/R |
Mon |
4/24 |
Milwaukee |
East 8th |
4 |
TBD |
TBD |
Wed |
4/26 |
East 8th |
Milwaukee |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Fri |
4/28 |
Milwaukee |
East 8th |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sun |
4/30 |
East 8th |
Milwaukee |
7* |
TBD |
TBD |
#2 Boston vs. #7 Atlanta |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sat |
4/15 |
Atlanta |
Boston |
1 |
3:30PM |
ESPN |
Tue |
4/18 |
Atlanta |
Boston |
2 |
7:00PM |
NBATV |
Fri |
4/21 |
Boston |
Atlanta |
3 |
7:00PM |
ESPN |
Sun |
4/23 |
Boston |
Atlanta |
4 |
7:00PM |
TNT |
Tue |
4/25 |
Atlanta |
Boston |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Thu |
4/27 |
Boston |
Atlanta |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sat |
4/29 |
Atlanta |
Boston |
7* |
TBD |
TNT |
#3 Philadelphia vs. #6 Brooklyn |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sat |
4/15 |
Brooklyn |
Philadelphia |
1 |
1:00PM |
ESPN |
Mon |
4/17 |
Brooklyn |
Philadelphia |
2 |
7:30PM |
TNT |
Thu |
4/20 |
Philadelphia |
Brooklyn |
3 |
7:30PM |
TNT/R |
Sat |
4/22 |
Philadelphia |
Brooklyn |
4 |
1:00PM |
TNT |
Mon |
4/24 |
Brooklyn |
Philadelphia |
5 |
TBD |
TBD |
Thu |
4/27 |
Philadelphia |
Brooklyn |
6 |
TBD |
TBD |
Sat |
4/29 |
Brooklyn |
Philadelphia |
7 |
TBD |
TNT |
#4 Cleveland vs. #5 New York |
||||||
DAY |
DATE |
AWAY |
HOME |
GM |
ET |
TV / R |
Sat |
4/15 |
New York |
Cleveland |
1 |
6:00PM |
ESPN/R |
Tue |
4/18 |
New York |
Cleveland |
2 |
7:30PM |
TNT |
Fri |
4/21 |
Cleveland |
New York |
3 |
8:30PM |
ABC/R |
Sun |
4/23 |
Cleveland |
New York |
4 |
1:00PM |
ABC |
Wed |
4/26 |
New York |
Cleveland |
5* |
TBD |
TBD |
Fri |
4/28 |
Cleveland |
New York |
6* |
TBD |
TBD |
Sun |
4/30 |
New York |
Cleveland |
7* |
TBD |
TBD |