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The young guns of the Celtics took over and led the Boston Celtics to a 114-112 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jayson Tatum scored 25 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal while Jaylen Brown posted 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz are the only NBA rookies with seven straight playoff games of at least 20 points since Julius Erving did it in 1972.
Guard Terry Rozier added 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Marcus Smart finished the game with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Smart provided the hustle and defensive energy for their team, picking up big time defensive stops and steals. Meanwhile, Al Horford finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals while Aaron Baynes had 13 points, 9 rebounds and 1 steal, including one of his favorite corner three-pointer.
Dario Saric and Joel Embiid led the scoring for the Sixers. Saric finished the game with a double-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block including clutch baskets at the last minutes of the game. Joel Embiid also had a double-double, scoring 27 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots. Rookie of the year favorite, Ben Simmons added 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block. TJ McConnell started once again in Game 5 and recorded 9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while JJ Redick finished with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
It was a close game from the first period until Boston scored the last eight points of the first half to extend the lead to 61-52 at half time. But the Sixers managed to close the third period with a 21-5 run to make it a one point deficit. Both teams were trading buckets over buckets in the fourth period. Both teams were playing very tight defense and each of them didn’t want one to pull away. The Celtics took a 111-109 lead with 18.8 seconds left when Jayson Tatum made a layup. Joel Embiid had a chance to tie it but he missed a contested layup against Aaron Baynes and Terry Rozier knocked the ball out of his hands, off his leg and out of bounds with 10 seconds left. Rozier hit two free throws and made it 113-10, then, JJ Redick’s three-pointer made it a one point game. The Sixers immediately fouled Marcus Smart and Smart missed his first free throw attempt. He tried to miss his second free throw intentionally but it sinked in. With no timeout, Ben Simmons threw a baseball pass but Marcus Smart stole it and threw the ball up in the air as the time expired, and the Celtics won. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. Game 1 will be on Sunday in Boston.
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