After a back-and-forth battle through the first six games of the series, it only took 36 minutes for the Celtics to put Philly away in Game 7. The final score may have been 112-88, but Sunday's contest was truly over at the end of the third quarter.
After falling behind in the opening quarter, the Celtics took a small lead going into the half. Then Boston went off, beating the 76ers 33-10 in the third quarter to take an 88-62 lead.
Another way to encapsulate this Game 7: how the stars performed. Jayson Tatum scored an efficient 51 points, grabbed 13 boards, dished out five assists and had two steals. Jaylen Brown scored 25 on 9-for-18 shooting. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid and James Harden combined for 26 points.
Tatum's 51 points set an NBA record for most points in a Game 7. Sam Jones previously held the Celtics' record with 47. Steph Curry previously held the NBA record with 50.
Boston's Game 7 win sets the Celtics up for a repeat of last season's Eastern Conference Finals matchup. On Wednesday, the second-seeded Celtics will host the No. 8 Miami Heat at TD Garden at 8:30 p.m.
After losing the first play-in game to the Hawks, Jimmy Butler and company knocked off the Bulls to earn a meeting with the top-seeded Bucks. The Heat then knocked off Milwaukee in five games, setting them up to a series with the Knicks. That one ended in six, making Miami all that stands between Boston and back-to-back NBA Finals trips.
