BOSTON — The Boston Celtics, getting a rare offensive explosion from Kelly Olynyk, advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-105 Game 7 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
Olynyk, who entered the game averaging 8.3 points per game in the playoffs, exploded for 14 of his career playoff-high 26 points in the first 8:34 of the fourth quarter, joining Isaiah Thomas in the offensive charge that gave Boston the 4-3 series win.
The top-seeded Celtics host the defending champion Cavaliers in Game 1 on Wednesday and Game 2 on Friday. Second-seeded Cleveland, 8-0 in the playoffs, took the season series 2-1.
Boston, keeping the home-court dominance of the season series intact, trailed by five with 5:39 left in the third quarter but outscored the Wizards 21-9 over the remainder of the period. Down by three, Thomas hit two 3-pointers and Marcus Smart one in a 1:13 span to put the home team ahead to stay.
The Celtics then opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 spurt, but Bradley Beal kept his team alive, until Olynyk buried them, hitting his first five shots of the final quarter. He shot 10 of 14 from the floor and also had five rebounds and four assists, leaving the game to a huge ovation with 1:37 left (he returned briefly in the final seconds).
Olynyk’s heroics helped the Boston bench outscore the Washington reserves 48-5.
Olynyk was the victim of a Kelly Oubre Jr. shove in Game 3 that got the Wizards guard suspended for Game 4. Oubre played just six seconds in Game 7, the crowd chanting his name in the final seconds.
Thomas scored 29 points and dished out a playoff-career-high 12 assists, while Al Horford had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, Jae Crowder 14 points and five boards, and Smart 13 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win.
Beal led the Wizards, who have not reached the conference final since 1979, with 38 points. Otto Porter scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Markieff Morris contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.
Washington guard John Wall had 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, but he shot just 8 of 23 from the floor, 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
All 11 games between these teams in the regular season and postseason — all physical affairs — were won by the home team. The Celtics have beaten the Wizards nine straight times at TD Garden dating back to 2014.
The Celtics hit 11 3-pointers for the eighth straight game, leaving them one game shy of matching the all-time streak.
NOTES: Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who borrowed a Bill Belichick line pregame by telling his players to “do your job,” on his team’s mindset coming in. “Our guys’ vibe doesn’t ever change. … That’s one of the things I’ve really appreciated about this team.” … The Celtics played in their NBA-record 30th Game 7, improving to 21-9, 19-4 at home. … The Wizards were 7-0 in the playoffs when allowing under 110 points, but they fell to 0-6 when giving up more than 110. … The Celtics are assured of no worse than the fourth pick in Tuesday night’s draft lottery as they still reap the benefits of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade to Brooklyn. … The Wizards are 6-4 in Game 7s, 2-4 on the road. … The Celtics played a Garnett video urging the fans during the first timeout. … Belichick was spotted in the stands. … Washington coach Scott Brooks fell to 2-1 coaching in seventh games. He was 2-0 with Oklahoma City, both wins over Memphis.
Spurs’ Leonard out for Game 2
San Antonio star forward Kawhi Leonard will miss Tuesday night’s Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at the Golden State Warriors, leaving Spurs coach Gregg Popovich irate over what he felt was an avoidable injury.
Popovich lashed out at Warriors center Zaza Pachulia for his defense on Leonard, telling reporters Monday that the play was “dangerous” and “unsportsmanlike” and citing a past pattern of such play by Pachulia.
Leonard aggravated his left ankle injury on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series when he landed on Pachulia’s foot after taking a jump shot early in the third quarter.
San Antonio held a 23-point lead at the time of the injury but couldn’t hold of a furious comeback without its best player and dropped a 113-111 decision.
“Lead with your foot close-out is not appropriate. It’s dangerous, it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s just not what anybody does to anybody else,” Popovich fumed. “And this particular individual has a history with that kind of action. … A totally unnatural close-out that the league has outlawed years ago and pays great attention to it.
“We’ve had a pretty damn good season. We’ve played fairly well in the playoffs … and we’re up 23 points in the third quarter against Golden State, and Kawhi goes down like that. And you want to know if our chances are less? And you want to know how we feel? That’s how we feel.”
Cavs, Goodyear agree on logo
The Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a multiyear sponsorship deal to wear Goodyear’s iconic Wingfoot logo on their jerseys beginning with the 2017-18 season.
The Cavs and the tire company, founded and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, announced the partnership at Quicken Loans Arena, home of the defending NBA champions.
Cavaliers star LeBron James is Akron’s favorite son and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is the city’s cornerstone company, founded in 1898.
“Every Akron kid grew up seeing the Wingfoot in the sky on the blimp and feeling pride in our community,” James said in a statement. “There is something special for me personally about having that logo on the Cavs uniform. Goodyear is also very supportive of the LeBron James Family Foundation. I can’t imagine a better situation with our new Cavs jersey than bringing together Nike and Goodyear, two companies that mean a lot to me and my family.”