Sixers 109, Celtics 100

 

And now another Boston season has ended. Friday night, the Bruins played their last game of the season. Saturday night, the Celtics bowed out, blowing a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series. 

It would suck even more if it weren't so expected. Despite two Boston blowout wins, 123-91 and 128-96, the Sixers proved over the course of the series that they were the better team. Jayson and Jaylen are great, but no match for Embiid, Maxey, George, Edgecombe, and Oubre. Too many  weapons, and all healthy at just the right time for the Sixers. More than these Celtics could handle.

Not to mention Boston didn't even have Jayson in Game 7. I'm not saying Tatum's absence (sore knee) was the reason for the loss - the Sixers already proved they could beat Boston with him on the floor - but we didn't even have him to help.

Still, the game was close. The Celtics fell way behind, trailing by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but battled back and pulled to within one point in the fourth. For a few thrilling moments there, it looked like a Boston win was within reach, but after a pair of Neemias Queta free throws made it 99-98, the Sixers made a 10-2 run to end the game. 

The game seemed cursed right from the very start. With Tatum out of the lineup, Mazzulla put in the unusual lineup of Mr. Brown and Mr. White, Luka Garza, Baylor Scheierman, and Ron Harper Jr. The Sixers immediately ran off nine unanswered points against that lineup to start the game, and then jumped out to a double-digit, 30-15, lead. Harper only lasted 4:02 in the game, and Garza, 8:38, but the damage had already been done. 

Brown finished the game with 33 points, but the team was -16 with him on the floor. Queta had a great game off the bench, replacing Garza at center, and scoring 17 points, snagging 11 rebounds, and hitting 7 of 8 shots. He was also the only Celtic to consistently drive inside and not desperately toss three-pointers from way outside - the rest of the team was 13-of-49 on threes. 

The Bruins loss on Friday night hurt, but they were a wild-card team playing the number two seed. The Celtics were the number two seed in this series and the Sixers the wild card, and as mentioned before, Boston had a 3-1 series lead including two blowout wins. So this one hurt a lot more.

So now we're left with a long, hot, Super El Nino summer of nothing but Red Sox baseball to hold us over until Georgia Bulldogs football season begins. I have little interest in the WNBA and even less in World Cup soccer. Captain Ella intends to resume her solo trip around the Arctic Ocean soon, so there's that to look forward to.

Friendly reminder that this was always supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Celtics. With Tatum out for most of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, no one had high hopes for the team this year, but Brown and White rose to the occasion and the team became a top-seed contender even before their superstar returned. So everything this year was gravy, and if the front office sticks with their long-term strategy, the Celtics could well be a juggernaut next season.