It’s ‘sweeter’ in the end
Game 7s: Celtics complete series comeback; Mavs roll
In the fog of the Game 5 loss to the Bucks that dropped his team into a 3-2 series hole, Celtics coach Ime Udoka made a prediction.
“It’ll make it sweeter when we bounce back,” he said.
Two wins later, the Celtics turned their coach’s prophecy into reality.
Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum added 23 and the Celtics set a Game 7 record with 22 3-pointers to eliminate the NBA champion Bucks 109-81 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The second-seeded Celtics will face the top-seeded Heat beginning Tuesday in a rematch of the 2020 East finals. The Heat beat the Celtics in six games in that series at Walt Disney World.
Tatum said his team embraced the “backs against the wall” moments it faced in having to win the final two games after their late collapse in their previous home game.
“As much as it hurt to lose Game 5, I was looking forward to that challenge,” Tatum said. “I believe in myself, I believe in this team. I expected to play the way I did and for us to respond the way we did.”
The Celtics trailed early in Game 7 before outscoring the third-seeded Bucks 61- 38 in the second half to cruise to the victory. The hosts used a whopping 54-point advantage from behind the arc to improve to 25-9 in decisive seventh games.
The Bucks are now 3-9. They went 4-for-33 (12.1%) from the 3-point line. That’s the second-worst 3-point percentage in a playoff game ever (minimum 30 attempts).
Williams was timid early, missing 5 of his first 7 3-point attempts.
It was a pep talk he got from Jaylen Brown during a timeout after Williams passed on a open shot that changed his mindset.
“For me it was like, they’re encouraging it, I might as well take advantage,” Williams said. “Each one as time got on got more comfortable.”
Williams finished 7-for-18 behind the arc. The Celtics were 22-for-55.
It helped silence another relentless night from Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists. But he was just 3 of 11 in the paint in the second half, including 1-for-6 the fourth quarter.
Mavs rout Suns in Game 7: Luka Doncic scored 35 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 and the Mavericks stunned the top-seeded Suns with a 123-90 Game 7 blowout Sunday night in Phoenix, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.
The Mavs broke through on the road after the home team won the first six games of the series, dominating in a hostile environment from start to finish. Conversely, it was an embarrassing no-show for the playoff-tested Suns — who advanced to the NBA Finals last season.
The fourth-seeded Mavericks travel to face the Warriors in Game 1 on Wednesday.
Doncic earned the Mavs an early lead, making his first three shots, including two 3-pointers. That helped the Mavs push to a 27-17 advantage in the first quarter and a whopping 57-27 cushion at the halftime break.
Doncic and Dinwiddie, who came off the bench, combined to pour in 48 of the Mavs’ 57 points.
Game 7 drama? Not in the desert. Simply put, the Suns looked overwhelmed by the pressure of a Game 7. They missed shots they usually make, made bad passes they usually don’t make and looked nothing like the team that won an NBA-best 64 games during the regular season.
The Suns’ All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker was never a factor Sunday. The 37-yearold Paul is a 12-time All-Star that has done just about everything possible in the game except win a championship.
After this setback, it’s fair to wonder if there will be many more opportunities. Booker finished with 11 points and shot 3 of 14. Paul had 10 points and four assists.
Kerr back with Warriors: Steve Kerr is out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols and preparing to coach the Warriors in the Western Conference finals after missing the last three games of the semifinal round against the Grizzlies with COVID-19.
Kerr said his symptoms were mild but his biggest concern wasn’t to get anyone around him sick.
Associate head coach Mike Brown, who recently became the next coach of the Kings, filled in for Kerr as the thirdseeded Warriors wrapped up the series with a 110-96 win on Friday night.