76ers-Celtics Preview

By JIMMY GOLEN
Posted May 25 2012 4:48PM

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) Kevin Garnett won't be posting any comments from the 76ers owners on his mental bulletin board. The Philadelphia fans won't be getting all riled up over comments deriding their loyalty.

"It's Game 7. There's no tomorrow," Celtics captain Paul Pierce said before practice on Friday. "If this is not the most important thing to you right now, there is no way to motivate you as a basketball player."

The Celtics and Sixers will play Saturday night for a spot in the Eastern Conference finals, where one of them will face the Miami Heat for the right to play for the NBA title. The 76ers forced the series to a decisive game by beating Boston 82-75 on Wednesday, keeping alive a surprising run that started when they knocked out top-seeded Chicago in the first round.

"I think they're excited about the chance to go in there and have this Game 7 and see what we can do," Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said. "I don't think we have any fear. I haven't felt that in our guys at all. When we have played poorly, it's not out of being fearful. I think sometimes we don't execute well. That to me has nothing to do with whether or not the guys believe they can do it."

The Sixers have not been to a Game 7 since 2001, and Collins said he was relying on the energy of a young team that has just one 30-year-old, Elton Brand, getting significant playing time. The Celtics, who have three in the starting lineup alone, are 3-2 in seventh games since the new Big Three was assembled in 2007.

Brand said his younger teammates are ready. Philadelphia point guard Jrue Holiday, who called Game 6 the "end of the world," said this would be "The End of the World II."

"They're not scared of the moment at all, which is really good for our team," Brand said. "Some of the older guys are saying, `Hey, we don't get this opportunity too many times. So let's try to win this game."'

That's also the mood in Boston, where they are gearing up for the last run of the new Big Three. Pierce is under contract, but Garnett and Ray Allen are free agents at the end of the season.

Still, Garnett wasn't manufacturing anything to motivate himself for the game, like he did for the finale against Atlanta when he fixated on comments by a Hawks owner calling him a dirty player. (He then fed the Sixers bulletin board material this week when he said they had fair-weather fans.)

Allen said he wasn't thinking - yet - about the possibility it could be his last game in a Boston uniform.

"We've been so fortunate to do what we've done here," he said. "It seems like we've been ruled out so many times before, so many years before. It's just another opportunity to go out and be who we are, so we're not worried about what's beyond tomorrow. We're worried about more about what we have in the present day."

The Celtics will be without guard Avery Bradley, who also missed Games 5 and 6. Rivers said Friday that Bradley will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on a left shoulder that frequently popped out of its socket during the regular season and playoffs.

Bradley has been a key part of the Celtics' defense. Without him, Allen moves back into the starting lineup and Rajon Rondo will be expected to cover the best Sixers' backcourt player in the game.

"It's disappointing when a player goes down. Especially what Avery has given us this year," Rivers said. "He's a very valuable part of our team. Not having him makes Rondo have to go back to that role - and run the team. Rondo doesn't have a lot of breaks."

Rondo, who had an off-night in Game 6 with nine points, six assists and nine rebounds - the first time these playoffs he has failed to reach double-digits in any of them - laughed at the suggestion that the added responsibility will be too much for him.

"Oh man, it's a lot of pressure," he said with a chuckle. "We're a team. We're one of the few teams in the NBA where all five guys contribute. We're not a one- or a two-man show. We play great as a team."

It's not the first injury for the Celtics, who lost Jeff Green to an aortic aneurism before the season began and got just 25 games out of starting center Jermaine O'Neal. During the playoffs, Allen has struggled with bone spurs in his ankle and Paul Pierce has a sprained MCL in his left knee.

"We need everything from everybody," Pierce said. "Whoever steps out on that court has to understand: This is it. This is our team."

Before practice, Rivers was presented with the Rudy Tomjonavich Award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association for excelling at his job while also helping the media do theirs.

---

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed to this story from Philadelphia.

Rondo leads Celtics to 85-75 Game 7 win over 76ers

By JIMMY GOLEN
Posted May 27 2012 2:10AM

BOSTON (AP) To Doug Collins, Boston's Big Three is already a memory.

"I don't look at them as the Big Three. I look at them as the Championship Four," the Philadelphia coach said. "Because if you're going to leave Rondo out, you're making a huge mistake."

Rajon Rondo helped his aging teammates keep their season going Saturday night, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 7 against the 76ers to lead Boston to an 85-75 victory and into an Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Miami Heat.

The Celtics will open the third round of the NBA playoffs in Miami on Monday night.

"I've already packed," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We'll be ready. It's going to be a tough turnaround, but we're not an excuse team. We'll be ready on Monday."

Bouncing back from his worst game of the playoffs - and snapping out of a 32-minute slump in which he had just two assists and five points - Rondo scored nine straight Boston points after Paul Pierce fouled out to help the Celtics turn a three-point edge into a double-digit lead.

Rondo had 11 points in the fourth quarter, including his first 3-pointer in five games, made all four of his free throws down the stretch and grabbed his 10th rebound in the final minute - chucking it over his head and into the frontcourt to help the Celtics dribble down the clock.

"He really came through," Sixers guard Jrue Holiday said. "He put the team on his back."

Andre Iguodala scored 18 points, and Holiday and Elton Brand had 15 apiece for the 76ers, who eliminated the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round but couldn't do the same with the Celtics.

Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, and Ray Allen hit a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers after missing his first five attempts.

"Ray is the ultimate gunslinger," Rivers said. "That's what makes great players great. I was a basketball player someday, and I would have never taken that shot."

Pierce had 15 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 4:16 left.

That's when Rondo took over.

The point guard, who had nine points and a playoff-low six assists in the Game 6 loss in Philadelphia, scored on a baseline drive and followed it up with a long 2-pointer (originally scored a 3) with 2:47 left. Then he made a 3-pointer with a little more than 2 minutes left to make it a 10-pont game and, after Brand scored on a tip-in, Rondo went to the line as the crowd chanted "M-V-P! M-V-P!" and hit a pair of free throws to leave Boston with an 80-70 lead with 1:44 left.

The Celtics will now face the actual NBA MVP - LeBron James - along with Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Heat. Miami advanced to the conference finals by eliminating the Indiana Pacers in six games.

Miami beat Boston in five games in the conference semifinals last year. In 2010, the Celtics eliminated the Heat in the first round and then knocked James and the Cavaliers out in the second - his final game with Cleveland before defecting to Miami.

"Last year is in the past," Rondo said. "This year we're a totally different team. We feel we can beat Miami. We got to this point; there's no doubt in my mind we can. We've got to go down there and take care of business."

Philadelphia had one last chance with 100 seconds to play after Holiday made a 3-pointer to cut it to seven points. Pierce was left with nothing to do but cheerlead, waving his arms to encourage the crowd as Garnett went to the line with just under a minute left.

He made one of two, but Holiday lost the ball on the way to the basket and Rondo made a pair of free throws with 54 seconds left. Allen made a pair as the crowd chanted "Beat the Heat!"

Jodie Meeks' 3-pointer rimmed out, the ball bounced to the floor and Rondo got his hands on it to complete the triple-double.

Pierce picked up two fouls seven seconds apart with about 8 minutes to play, then his fifth with 5:16 left. Rivers left him in, and Pierce picked up No. 6 a minute later - a charging call against Thaddeus Young out by the free throw line.

Notes: Boston got off to a fast start, taking a 10-2 lead thanks to four assists and two rebounds from Rondo in the first 3 minutes. ... The Celtics missed their first 14 attempts from 3-point range and made their last three. ... Seven of the first nine fouls were called against the Celtics. ... It was the 25th anniversary of Larry Bird's steal, and pass to Dennis Johnson, on Isiah Thomas' inbounds pass to beat Detroit in the 1987 playoffs. ... CNN anchor John King, a Boston native, took in the game from courtside. ... Philadelphia shot 28 percent from the floor in the first half.

Notebook: Celtics 85, Sixers 75

Posted Sunday May 27, 2012 1:08AM

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Rajon Rondo had his second triple-double of the series when it mattered most, carrying the Boston Celtics down the stretch to a 85-75 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Rondo had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the way for the hosts as the Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Miami Heat. Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 13 rebounds for Boston in the back-and-forth affair as both teams struggled to score points for the opening 36 minutes. Boston's backcourt finally broke out offensively in the fourth quarter though, as Rondo and Ray Allen combined for 19 of Boston's 30 points, helping the Celts' pull away late for a hard fought series win. Andre Iguodala paced the visitors with a team-high 18 points, but got little help from his teammates, as the Sixers shot just 35 percent from the field on the night.

QUOTABLE: "We feel we can beat Miami. Obviously we got to this point. There's no doubt in my mind that we can, so we got to go down there and take care of business."
-- Rondo on facing the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals

THE STAT: After shooting just 36.7 percent over the first three quarters, Boston's offense caught fire over the final 12 minutes. The Celts' shot a sizzling 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the field in the fourth quarter, and hit 9-of-10 attempts from the free throw line.

TURNING POINT: After Paul Pierce fouled out with 4:16 remaining in the game with Boston leading by just three points, Rondo seized control on the offensive end, scoring 11 of his 18 points before the final buzzer, outscoring Philadelphia himself 11-7 the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "I don't look at them as the Big Three. I look at them as the championship four. My hat is off to them."
-- Doug Collins on the Celtics' core

HOT: Garnett -- The 36-year-old capped off a sensational series with yet another double-double Saturday night. Against Philadelphia over seven games, he averaged 19.7 points per game and 11 rebounds per game.

NOT: Allen -- Boston's sharpshooting guard missed eight of his first nine shots from the field over the first three quarters, including all five from 3-point range.

QUOTABLE III: "I think we learned a lot. We have a really young team. Again with a shortened season, we kind of learned on the fly and playing against a veteran team like this really helped us grow. We just learned a lot"
-- Jrue Holiday on his team's season

INSIDE THE ARENA: New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork watched the game courtside with his wife Bianca.

QUOTABLE IV: "You know he was able to step up, be aggressive, knock down a couple big threes, get to the bucket. That was huge for us. You know he felt a sense of urgency, he smelled it, how close we were. He was able to take over the game with his scoring, and it was just phenomenal to watch."
-- Pierce on Rondo

BAD MOVE: Playing with five fouls over the final six minutes of the game, Pierce attacked the basket a bit too aggressively, allowing Thaddeus Young to draw the charge. Boston however was able to overcome the loss of their captain for the final 4:16 of the contest and escape with the win.

ROOKIE WATCH: Lavoy Allen -- The former Temple star continued his effectiveness off the bench as the season ended for Philadelphia. The big man had two points and six rebounds in 16 minutes and continues to have a bright future in Philadelphia.

NOTABLE: Avery Bradley did not play after undergoing shoulder surgery on Friday. The second-year guard is out for the postseason after the procedure. ... The Celtics missed their first 14 3-point attempts. ... The Sixers were able to stay in the game largely due to 17 second chance points thanks to 13 offensive rebounds. ... The Sixers missed six free throws (14-of-20) and shot just 68.7 percent from the charity stripe during the series. Comparatively, Boston hit 84.3 percent of their free throws over the seven games against Philadelphia. ... The Celtics had 13 of their 14 fast break points in the first half. ... The Celtics improved to 18-4 in Game 7's at home. They have now won 19 of their past 21 games at TD Garden.

UP NEXT: Eastern Conference Finals Game 1: Boston @ Miami 8:30 P.M. on Monday May 28th.

• 76ers: Young
• Celtics: Bradley, Johnson

• 76ers: --
• Celtics: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #24 Mike Callahan, #25 Tony Brothers
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 2:30