The Celtics traveled to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead over the 76ers and won Game 3 in overtime 101-98. Jayson Tatum lead Boston with 24 points while Joel Embiid had 22 points for the 76ers.
The 76ers fought off the Celtics in Game 4, winning 103-92 to avoid a sweep and force Game 5. Dario Saric lead Philadelphia with 25 points while Tatum had 20 for Boston.
The Celtics traveled back to Boston for Game 5 and closed out the series with a 114-112 win. Tatum again lead the team with 25 points while Embiid had 27 points for Philadelphia. The Celtics advanced to play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round.
Stevens receives no votes for NCBA Coach of the Year
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens—despite being considered by many to be the front-runner for the NBA Coach of the Year award—received no votes for NCBA Coach of the Year. That award is voted for by other coaches in the league.
Stevens downplayed the lack of recognition for the award when talking to ESPN.
“The way that thing works is you get one vote. And I’m telling you, I looked at the sheet and there’s no way that I would have voted for me over any of the other 29 people,” Stevens said.
Tatum’s historic postseason
Rookie Jayson Tatum is coming off a playoff series against the 76ers where he averaged 23.6 points per game. That includes 10 points in the fourth quarter of the series-clinching win, and the go-ahead basket with 22.5 seconds left.
He’s been impressive, but this postseason has also been historic. He’s scored 20 or more points in seven consecutive games, the most since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 20 points in 10 straight games in the 1969-1970 season.
“You grow up envisioning yourself in these moments,” Tatum said. “It came faster than I thought but I felt like I put the work in and earned their trust and you’ve got to make something happen when you do.”
Next 7 days at a glance
Sunday, May 13 vs Cleveland Cavaliers at 3:30 pm
Tuesday, May 15 vs Cleveland Cavaliers at 8:30 pm
