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Key Moment
Jayson Tatum came through when the Celtics needed him most during Saturday night’s Game 7 against Milwaukee. The 20-year-old rookie was the key to Boston’s game-changing, 6-0 run during the final minutes of the third quarter.
Tatum wasn’t involved in the start of the run, but he sure did finish it with a bang.
Aron Baynes got it all started with one of his five offensive rebounds on the night. He hauled the board in off of a miss by Tatum, and immediately kicked it out to Marcus Morris, who was standing in the left corner of the court. Morris immediately let it fly and cashed in on the 3, all while drawing the foul. Morris missed the free throw but still pushed the Celtics ahead by 13 with 1:19 remaining in the quarter.
The rest of the run was all about Tatum.
Off of the miss by Morris, Milwaukee pushed the ball in transition and got the ball into the hands of Shabazz Muhammad. Muhammad made a beautiful move to split two defenders and to get to the rack, but the 6-foot-8 Tatum was there to greet him.
Tatum rose high in the air and swatted Muhammad’s shot away with his right hand, pulling every fan in the building to its feet. Marcus Smart saved the loose ball to Shane Larkin, all while Tatum quietly made his way to the other end of the court along the left sideline.
Seconds later, Larkin skipped the ball to Tatum, who caught it on the left wing. He faked a pass to the left corner to Morris, which completely moved Milwaukee’s defense – and, in particular, Giannis Antetokounmpo – out of his line of sight. Tatum quickly concentrated on the front of the rim, let it fly from long distance, and canned the shot to push Boston ahead by 16 with 1:04 left in the game.
The C’s comfortably led from there on out. Milwaukee never threatened, and Boston cruised to a 112-96 victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Key Player
Terry Rozier and Eric Bledsoe went at it throughout this series, both on the court and in the media, and Saturday night, Rozier won the final round.
Rozier tied Al Horford for the team high in scoring with 26 points while hitting 10 of his 16 field goal attempts. Five of his makes were from long distance, where he attempted eight 3-pointers.
Scoring wasn’t the only area in which Rozier excelled. He flirted with a triple-double by notching a game-high nine assists – at least three more than any other player in the game – and he also hauled in six rebounds. Toss in a steal and an assist, and there wasn’t much during this game that Rozier didn’t do.
Bledsoe finished Game 7 with 23 points, three assists and two rebounds. He played well. Rozier just played better – again.
Box Score Nuggets
- Al Horford and Terry Rozier tied for Boston's team high in scoring with 26 points apiece.
- Four of Milwaukee's six reserve players finished with a plus/minus of at least minus-11.
- Boston scored 60 points in the paint after averaging just 41.3 points in the paint per game through the first six contests of the series.
- The C's scored 16 points off of Milwaukee's 16 turnovers.
- After making just one 3-pointer during the first half, the C's canned eight during the second half.
- Horford shot a scorching 13-for-17 from the field.
- Khris Middleton led the game with 32 points.
- Boston shot a woeful 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the free-throw line.
- Eric Bledsoe (23 points) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (22 points) finished second and third on Milwaukee in scoring.
- No player in the game grabbed double-digit rebounds. Antetokounmpo .
- The C's scored 31 points during both the third and the fourth quarters.
- Boston led by as many as 19 points.
- Jayson Tatum scored 20 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.
Quote of the Night
Brad Stevens on Al Horford and Aron Baynes.