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C's Drown Bulls in Game 6, Splash into Next Round

Marc D'Amico
Team Reporter and Analyst

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CHICAGO – Water found its level Friday night in Chicago, and the Celtics drowned the Bulls right out of the NBA Playoffs.

Ninety minutes after Brad Stevens made the claim that “water finds its level” in regard to Boston’s recent shooting woes, the Celtics took the floor at the United Center and were splash-happy from the opening tip.

Boston drained three 3-pointers during the first 92 seconds of the game, and nine during the first half, to open up a series-clinching 105-83 win over Chicago.

“I think obviously the first couple of minutes that proved itself true,” Stevens said of his pregame comment, “because we hit a couple of really tough ones. But we have guys that will continue to shoot it better and we were really looking for each other and getting open shots.”

Shots that went in and broke Chicago’s spirit.

The Celtics oftentimes speak of their ambition to throw the first punch when they take the court. They didn’t just throw a punch at the start of Game 6; they threw a knockout blow.

“The harder-playing team, the team that punches first, that’s the team that gets the calls. That’s the team that sets the tone of the game,” said Avery Bradley. “That’s what we were tonight.”

Boston kept the ball boys busy with their mops as it splashed its way to the final buzzer. The team made four 3-pointers during the first quarter, five during the second quarter, four during the third quarter and three during the fourth quarter to total 16 on the night.

The Celtics shot 48.8 percent from the floor and 41.0 percent from 3-point range on the night.

“It felt good to play Celtic Basketball here,” Bradley said. “We were all smiling, having fun, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Fun is probably an understatement. This was a night for the GIF-makers, as the Celtics were caught celebrating time and time again with smiles, roars, high-fives and chest-bumps.

They dominated this game, and they weren’t going to let the moment go to waste.

As Al Horford put it, “We were a focused group, and we were enjoying the moment.”

Now Boston has advanced on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2012, when it made a magical run to the seventh game of the Conference Finals against LeBron James and the vaunted Miami Heat.

Could a similar run be in store for these No. 1-seeded C’s, who are still overlooked and disrespected each and every day? It sure could be if Boston continues to splash away in the same manner it did Friday night in Chicago.

That might not be an outrageous expectation according to the captain of Boston’s ship.

As a confident Stevens claimed after the win, “We’ve got more coming based on how we shot before.”