Smoother than smooth. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum ruled the decisive Game 7 between Boston and Philadelphia on Sunday. Unstoppable from one end of the game to the other, the Celtics star broke a record for a Game 7 of the playoffs by scoring 51 points to defeat the Sixers of a Joel Embiid away from MVP mode (112-88). Boston is reaching its third NBA Eastern Conference Finals in four years, where the Miami Heat awaits it, as usual.

Miami, which eliminated New York in its semifinal (4-2), won their first game in the anti-Covid bubble of Orlando in 2020, before losing in the finals to the Lakers. Last year, Boston took its revenge, before losing on the last step against Golden State. It is therefore a beautiful electric that awaits these two rivals, Jimmy Butler and his family being warned, if necessary, of the mental resources that the C's know how to show.


THE JAYSON TATUM GAME 🗣️

51 PTS (Game 7 NBA record)
13 REB
5 AST
6 3PM

Celtics advance to the ECF !!️#NBAPlayoffs presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/Y8UT8jC1lV

— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2023

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Tatum "happy to have bounced back"

Like Jayson Tatum, sometimes struggling in the series, and who showed the way majestically to his team on Sunday. Already author of 16 of his 19 pawns in the last quarter of Game 6 in Philly (86-95) to keep his team alive, he walked on water during this final decisive game. With a formidable skill (17/28), the 4th in the ranking of the MVP of the regular season has broken the recent record of Stephen Curry, author of 50 points during the beautiful in Sacramento.

"It feels good. In this series, there were ups and downs, I didn't play well three-quarters of the last game... So I'm happy to have bounced back, "commented the interested party, whose desire to fight has transpired everywhere (13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals). It was he who put Boston back in front (42-41) midway through the second quarter, being as aggressive near the circle as surgical behind the arc (6/10), two of his banderilles even flying over Joel Embiid who came to hinder him in vain.


Embiid and Harden very far from the account

To say that the Cameroonian pivot, contained at 5/18 shooting (15 points, 8 rebounds), did not respond to the most important game of the season is an understatement. And this too because the Celtics have poisoned the life of the MVP by their fierce and rotating defense, with Al Horford as the designated blocker (3). Philly started the game solidly, with a nine-point lead in the first quarter when PJ Tucker scored all of his 11 points. But in the following period, Jaylen Brown (25 points overall) sounded the green revolt, bubbling up right after receiving an unintentional blow to the nose from James Harden.

The latter could not make miracles, as was the case twice (Games 1 and 4), with award-winning shots at the buzzer to give the victory to the Sixers. Worse, he was transparent (9 points on 3-of-11 shooting, 7 assists). Philadelphia will have regrets after believing it had achieved the hardest by winning Game 5 at TD Garden, without finishing work at home.

Doc Rivers will therefore (again) be inevitably singled out for his inability to complete the playoffs, after this fourth failure in the playoffs, despite having led 3-2. The previous three had occurred when he was coaching... Boston in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Asked about his future, the Sixers coach said he wanted to "continue" with Philly, arguing that he "has two years left on his contract." There were also Mike Budenholzer and Monty Williams left, before the Bucks and Suns fired them after their recent playoff eliminations.

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