BOSTON â€" The chant started in the final minute. Boston Celtics fans could sense the moment, and they know what awaits them this week. “Beat the Heat!†came from one pocket of the crowd before spreading throughout the arena. A sign on the video screen read “Bring on LeBron.†The message was clear. Boston is ready for Goliath.
It took longer than Celtics fans anticipated when the series started, but Boston finally will have another chance at LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics were extended to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers before holding on for a 85-75 victory in Saturday’s deciding game. Miami beat the Celtics in five games in last season’s conference semifinals, as the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo sustained a dislocated elbow in the series.
Saturday’s game became nerve-racking in Boston when Paul Pierce fouled out with 4 minutes 16 seconds remaining and the Celtics clinging to a 3-point lead. The whistle came on an offensive foul that incensed the crowd. Yet instead of capitalizing on the absence of Boston’s best scorer, the Sixers watched Rondo score 7 consecutive points to give the Celtics a 10-point lead.
The Sixers could never again make it a one-possession game, and Rondo added another defining postseason moment to his résumé.
He finished the game with a triple-double: 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Kevin Garnett also scored 18 for the Celtics and had 13 rebounds. Brandon Bass added 16 points.
Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 18 points.
A critical point in the game came the final minute of the third quarter, when Igoudala, the Sixers’ scrutinized All-Star, missed two free throws with 20.3 seconds remaining and the Sixers trailing by 53-52. In Game 5 in Boston on Monday, Iguodala missed two free throws during another critical third-quarter juncture, and those misses stung after the Celtics took command of the game in the fourth quarter, winning 101-85.
On Saturday, the Celtics responded to Iguodala’s missed free throws with a Garnett jump shot at the buzzer to take a 55-52 lead into the fourth quarter.Before the game, Coach Doug Collins said the Sixers needed to make early shots and not fall into an early deficit. But Boston took a 10-2 lead in the first quarter after the Sixers missed 9 of their first 10 field-goal attempts.
But as they have done throughout much of the series, the Sixers ensured that it was a scrappy game and kept within a few baskets. It helped that Rondo was called for his second foul with a little more more than four minutes remaining in the quarter. The quarter ended tied at 20-20.
After Game 6, Celtics Coach Doc Rivers advocated for defensive basketball when he openly wondered why low-scoring, tough-defended games are considered ugly. Saturday’s first half could aptly be described as ugly.
The Sixers scored only 13 points the second quarter and finished the half shooting 28.2 percent. The Celtics were not much better, hitting only 37.5 percent of their shots and going 0 for 9 on 3-point attempts. The difference in the half was fast-break points: Boston had 13, the Sixers only 2.
The Celtics crowd came alive when Iguodala threw a wayward inbounds pass with 40.9 seconds remaining in the half that Bass stole and dunked to give Boston a 41-33 lead.
Before the game, Collins reflected on his days coaching Michael Jordan as an example of how players can elevate their performance when the pressure mounts. The Sixers’ youth and inexperience has been on display throughout the postseason, and Collins was eager to see how they would respond in a Game 7 if the biggest series the franchise has played in more than a decade.
For the Celtics, the story was different. With a veteran team, Rivers believes it is important to emphasize the big picture. The core group has already proved it can win big games.
Saturday was especially important in Boston because of the future of the Celtics’ so-called Big Three â€" Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen, who won the 2008 N.B.A. finals â€" remains in doubt. Allen and Garnett will be free agents at the end of the season, so they entered Saturday’s game knowing it could be the last they play in a Boston uniform.
The Celtics will not have to worry about that day yet. First, they need to worry about beating the Heat.
No comments:
Post a Comment