NBA Finals: No panic for Warriors after Celtics shocker

Draymond Green said there is no chance of the Golden State Warriors hitting the panic button after the NBA Finals favorites crashed to a series-opening defeat to the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

The Warriors slumped to a stunning 120-108 loss in front of their home fans after the Celtics staged a remarkable fourth-quarter onslaught, outscoring their opponents, 40-16.

It was the first time Golden State were beaten at home this postseason, leaving the Warriors desperately needing to win Sunday's Game 2 in San Francisco.

Green said the Warriors will respond to the challenge after falling behind in the best-of-seven series.

"You get a chance to do something else, do it in a different way, embrace the challenge," Green said. "We've always embraced challenges. We'll embrace this one. It's not a hit to the confidence at all, not one bit."

"Whether you win every game at home, you still want to win one on the road. And our history, we've always won one on the road," he added. "So, it's just nothing to panic about. It's the first team to win four games, not the first to win one."

Green's comments were echoed by Klay Thompson.

"It's never fun and it hurts on the biggest stage, obviously, but there's no reason to panic," Thompson said.

"I like our chances still, and we'll go home and we'll digest what happened. I know we'll be better Game 2.

"There's no reason to hold onto a loss when you have another game so soon."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team will approach Game 2 on Sunday with a sense of "desperation."

"When you win game one at home, there's a sense of comfort, and you kind of have a feel for your opponent at that point and make your adjustments," Kerr said.

"So it's a different feeling. Obviously you go into Game 2 with more of a sense of desperation.

"But that's all part of this stuff. We've been in this position before, and we've won series where we've lost the first game... you always kind of assume that you're going to have to win on the road to win a playoff series."

Agence France-Presse

Tatum, Brown lead Boston romp over Sacramento

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 62 points and the Boston Celtics made it two straight wins on their Western trip with a 126-97 pounding of the host Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Payton Pritchard made all five of his shots, including a 4-for-4 effort on 3-pointers, on a 14-point night off the bench as the Celtics overpowered the Kings with 56.1-percent shooting overall and 55.0-percent accuracy from beyond the 3-point line.

Domantas Sabonis compiled a 30-point, 20-rebound double-double for Sacramento, which lost for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Twenty-one of Tatum's 32 points came on seven 3-pointers in 10 attempts, helping Boston connect 22 times from beyond the arc.

Brown added 3-for-5 on 3's en route to 30 points for the Celtics, who opened a four-game trip with a 110-88 romp over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Wednesday night.

En route to its 17th win in the last 20 games, Boston trailed only momentarily after scoring the game's first 11 points. Brown and Al Horford had two hoops apiece in the early flurry.

The Celtics went up by as many as 21 in the second quarter, 23 in the third and 29 in the fourth in completing a one-sided, season-series sweep. Boston had beaten Sacramento 128-75 at home in January.

Daniel Theis added 11 points for the Celtics, who got scoring from 11 different players.

Marcus Smart chipped in with a game-high eight assists to complement nine points, four rebounds and four steals, while Horford finished with a team-high nine rebounds to go with six points.

Sabonis' double-double was his 45th of the season, his eighth with at least 30 points and third with at least 20 rebounds. He had never previously had 30 points and 20 rebounds in the same game.

He also led the Kings with five assists.

Justin Holiday went for 21 points for the Kings, while Trey Lyles had 19, Davion Mitchell 12 and Chimezie Metu 10.

De'Aaron Fox sat out the game with a bruised right hand, while Harrison Barnes went scoreless in 24 minutes, missing all five of his shots.

-reuters-

NBA: Celtics paste Pacers in key battle for 4th in East

Jayson Tatum scored 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 as the Boston Celtics took over sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 117-97 victory Friday over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

The result puts Boston on track for home-court advantage in the upcoming NBA playoffs.

Kyrie Irving scored 17 points for the Celtics (48-32), who broke a fourth-place tie with the Pacers, doing it on the road, where they have held their ups and downs. Boston is now 20-20 away from home this season.

Hayward was 9 of 9 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line, while Aron Baynes had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics.

Myles Turner scored 15 points for the Pacers, who are having their troubles down the stretch, losing eight of their past 11 games. Indiana (47-33) entered Friday's game after consecutive victories over the Detroit Pistons.

While the fourth-place Celtics and fifth-place Pacers are in line to meet each other when the playoffs begin next weekend, Boston did move 1 and a half games behind the third-place Philadelphia 76ers with games remaining at home against the Orlando Magic on Sunday and at the Washington Wizards on Tuesday to close out the regular season.

The Pacers conclude their schedule with a game at home against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and a visit to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

The Celtics started slowly, trailing 27-24 after one quarter as Indiana worked the ball inside, scoring 16 points in the paint. Boston neutralized the Pacers' inside game by speeding up the tempo, scoring 34 points in the second quarter to take a 58-47 lead into halftime.

Boston remained on the attack in the third quarter, increasing the advantage to as many as 18 points before taking a 91-74 lead into the final quarter by shooting 55.4 percent from the field.

The Celtics effectively put the game away three minutes into the fourth quarter when they turned a pair of Pacers turnovers into back-to-back fastbreak dunks by Tatum for a 102-80 lead.

Pacers forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who entered scoring 21.5 points per game since All-Star Victor Oladipo was lost for the season in January, scored just four points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field. Domantas Sabonis and Tyreke Evans scored 12 points each for Indiana.

The Pacers were playing without point guard Darren Collison (groin), while the Celtics lost guard Terry Rozier after just six minutes on the floor because of illness.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Celtics never trail in blowing out Mavericks

Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 114-93 wire-to-wire victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Jayson Tatum added 18 points and Marcus Smart had 17, including five 3-pointers, to pick up the scoring slack with leading scorer Kyrie Irving missing a second consecutive game with eye irritation.

The Celtics also played without forward Marcus Morris, who hurt his neck after a scary fall in Wednesday's game against Minnesota.

Boston was challenged only once, when their 53-36 second-quarter lead got whittled down to 58-57 early in the third. 

But after Mavs rookie sensation Luka Doncic drained a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, his 3-point attempt to grab the lead missed everything. The Celtics answered with a 21-6 run.

Dallas was trying to put together back-to-back road wins for the first time this season after routing Charlotte on Wednesday. The Mavs made 10 3-pointers in the first quarter of that game.

Against Boston, they made 11 for the entire game on 44 attempts. Boston finished 21 of 45 from deep.

Harrison Barnes led Dallas with 20 points, while Doncic had 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. DeAndre Jordan tallied 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki, who has averaged more points in his career against the Celtics than any other team, received a standing ovation from the Boston crowd when he checked in.

But the No. 7 scorer in NBA history failed to score and missed all 10 of his shot attempts, eight from beyond the arc. In the final minutes, the Boston crowd cheered him on, trying to will him onto the scoresheet.

The Celtics, who also got 16 points from Gordon Hayward, got off to a fast start, using an 8-0 run to end the first quarter with a 34-23 lead.

The final six points of the spurt came on consecutive 3-pointers by reserve guard Brad Wanamaker to quickly eclipse his previous season-high of five points. He finished with eight points, four assists and three steals in a season-high 22 minutes.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Celtics' Hayward explodes for 35 in beating Wolves

Boston's Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 35 points and Terry Rozier got the start for an injured Kyrie Irving and scored 16 points on Wednesday to lead the Celtics to a 115-102 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Irving suffered a right eye injury in a loss to San Antonio on New Year's Eve and his status remains day-to-day. Minnesota also was short-handed without Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose and Robert Covington dressing.

Hayward connected on 14 of 18 shots and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range, including a 27-footer from the top of the key with 4:37 left that put the Celtics up 106-92 after Minnesota had cut a 21-point deficit to six.

In the teams' first meeting, Hayward scored 30 points in a Celtics' 118-109 win on December 1.

Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with a season-high 31 points. Karl-Anthony Towns finished 28 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Minnesota came alive in the third quarter after the Celtics had grabbed a 60-42 halftime lead. The Timberwolves cut the deficit to 77-67 on a Towns' 26-foot, 3-pointer.

Boston's Marcus Smart sprained his shoulder in a collision with Towns early in the third with the Celtics up 18. When he returned, the Celtics were up only 85-74.

Towns scored 20 third-quarter points and the Timberwolves trailed just 87-81 heading into the fourth quarter.

Marcus Morris also injured his shoulder on a driving layup in the fourth. Morris left the game and did not return.

Boston shot 61.5 percent from the field in the first half and went 8-for-17 from 3-point range. Minnesota was a dreadful 41 percent from the field and only 3 of 10 from beyond the arc in the first 24 minutes.

The Timberwolves looked like they still were dragging from a New Year's Eve loss to New Orleans as the Celtics went on a 16-0 second-quarter run to go up, 47-27.

Hayward's 23-foot, 3-point jumper ignited the rally that saw Minnesota miss nine straight shots and turn the ball over four times.

Tyus Jones ended the drought with a 12-foot jumper, but Hayward answered with another 3 to give the Celtics a 21-point lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Hayward explodes for 30 as Celtics beat T-wolves

Gordon Hayward enjoyed his best game of the season, scoring 30 points while also adding nine rebounds and eight assists to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 118-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis on Saturday night.

The Celtics extended their modest win streak to three games, getting the last two on consecutive nights.

The T-wolves saw their season-best win streak snapped at four games.

In the first quarter, the Celtics crawled back from an early seven-point deficit to lead 29-26 through the end of the opening frame on the strength of strong ball movement.

The second quarter saw the Celtics expand that lead to 57-48 by halftime, built largely with nine 3-pointers to the T-wolves' four triples. Hayward (14 points) and Kyrie Irving (12) were already in double figures for the Celtics at the break, while Derrick Rose responded with 12 for Minnesota.

A high-scoring 3rd quarter saw the Timberwolves shave only two points from the halftime deficit. Boston relied heavily on an inside-out game between Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

Trailing 89-81 early in the final frame, the T-wolves ripped off an 8-0 run to tie the game with less than nine minutes remaining before Boston responded with its own 9-0 run. The Celtics never looked back.

For the Celtics, in addition to Heyward they got big performances from Jayson Tatum, who scored 19 points and added nine rebounds. Irving also chipped in with 21 points and nine assists.

Jaylen Brown missed his third straight game for the Celtics because of a nagging back injury, resulting in Marcus Smart's third start of the season.

The Timberwolves were led by Towns, who posted 20 points and nine rebounds. Robert Covington added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in a spirited effort for the losing side. Rose scored 26 off the bench.

Up next for Boston is a four-day gap before the Celtics visit the New York Knicks on Thursday. Minnesota's next contest is the third game of their current 4-game homestand as they host the Houston Rockets on Monday.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Ingles spoils Hayward's return as Jazz top Celtics

Joe Ingles tied a career high with 27 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Jazz spoiled the return of Gordon Hayward to Utah with an energetic 123-115 victory Friday over the visiting Boston Celtics in Salt Lake City.

Jazz fans booed every move of Hayward, who left Utah for Boston via free agency before the start of last season. 

Hayward then suffered a fractured ankle injury in the Celtics' season opener last year and did not play the remainder of the season.

In limited minutes, as he continues to work his way back from his injury, Hayward scored 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. 

He had just four points in the first half, earning a cheer from Jazz fans when he airballed a shot from five feet with 9:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Donovan Mitchell had 21 points while former Celtic Jae Crowder scored 20 points, and Ricky Rubio added 17 as the Jazz won consecutive games after losing four in a row. 

Ingles added five rebounds and seven assists while going 10 of 14 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

Terry Rozier scored 22 points and Jayson Tatum added 21 for the Celtics, who have now lost three of the four games they have played on their current five-game road trip. 

Friday's defeat came a day after they needed overtime to defeat the Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics looked poised to pull off a huge rally just as they did in Phoenix. They cut a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to just four points on four different occasions in the fourth quarter. 

But the Jazz had enough energy to finish off the victory.

Burned for 48 points by Denver guard Jamal Murray on Tuesday, the Celtics were intent on not letting the same thing happen again. 

They held the dynamic Mitchell to just six shots until one minute remaining in the third quarter.

Mitchell asserted himself from there, taking three shots and scoring four points in the final 42 seconds of the third quarter, although he was just 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Irving leads Celtics in OT rally past Suns

Kyrie Irving recorded a season-high 39 points and also had seven rebounds and six assists to help the Boston Celtics rally to a 116-109 overtime victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Marcus Morris added 17 points and drained the tying 3-point basket in regulation as Boston recovered from a 22-point third-quarter deficit. Jaylen Brown connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime to cap a 17-point effort and Terry Rozier added 10 points.

Devin Booker scored a season-high 38 points and added nine assists and TJ Warren scored a season-high 29 points for Phoenix, which has dropped nine of its 11 games this season. Deandre Ayton contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Celtics recovered from a poor-shooting first half to finish at 40.2 percent, including 14-of-37 from 3-point range. The Suns shot 44.1 percent and were 11-of-35 from 3-point range.

Boston trailed by 19 points after the opening quarter and by 25 after the third period but rallied with a 20-6 run at the end of regulation to force overtime.

Brown's 3-pointer gave Boston a 112-109 lead with 2:05 left in overtime and Morris added a layup 26 seconds later. Jayson Tatum added two free throws with nine seconds left to close it out.

The Celtics trailed by 14 with 3:45 remaining in regulation before Irving (five) and Brown (four) scored all the points during a 9-0 surge to cut the Suns' lead to 94-89 with 2:05 remaining.

Boston kept on the pressure and moved within 98-95 on Irving's 3-pointer with 35.9 seconds left and Brown's basket with 7.3 seconds left moved the Celtics within one. Warren connected on two free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining to give Phoenix a 100-97 edge.

Morris drained a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to knot the score. It was Boston's six trey of the quarter.

Warren scored 19 first-half points as Phoenix led 55-35 at the break.

The Celtics shot a meager 21.7 percent from the field in the half - 10-for-46 -- and committed 10 turnovers.

Irving was the only Boston starter to score in the first half and he was just 3-of-10 shooting while scoring 13 points. The other four starters -- Brown, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Tatum -- missed all 15 of their shots.

Irving opened the contest with a 3-pointer before the Suns scored the next 15 points.

Booker's 17-footer with 0.5 seconds left gave the Suns a 32-13 edge in a stanza in which the Celtics went 4-of-22 from the field.

Phoenix stretched its lead to 48-26 on Booker's 3-pointer with 4:31 to play in the half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Curry's 49 points carry Warriors past Celtics

Stephen Curry poured in 31 of his season-high 49 points in the second half Saturday night, including consecutive hoops to break a late tie, rallying the Golden State Warriors to a 109-105 victory over the Boston Celtics in a nationally televised showdown of conference leaders in Oakland, Calif.

Golden State avenged a 92-88 loss in Boston in November and prevented the Celtics from becoming the first team in the Steve Kerr coaching era to sweep a season series from the Warriors.

The Warriors and Celtics have split their season series each of the past three seasons. The win allowed Golden State (40-10) to go five games ahead of Boston (35-15) in their three-team duel with the Houston Rockets (34-13) for the best record in the NBA.

Making their third stop on a four-game Western swing, the Celtics took a 95-94 lead on a Jaylen Brown interior move with 3:26 to play before Kevin Durant countered with one free throw to produce the game's final tie at 95-all.

Curry then gave the Warriors the lead for good with a 3-pointer at the 1:43 mark, and followed that with a layup that created a five-point gap with 1:28 to go.

Boston closed within one on a 3-pointer by Terry Rozier with 7.7 seconds left before Curry made four straight free throws to keep the Celtics at arm's length.

The Warriors trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and 54-50 at halftime before Curry, hitting four consecutive 3-pointers, almost single-handedly outscored the Celtics in his 18-point third quarter. Golden State posted a 30-19 edge in the period to go up 80-73 entering the fourth.

   
Curry's 49 points came on 16-of-24 shooting and 8-of-13 accuracy from 3-point range.

Durant finished with 20 points and Draymond Green recorded a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who completed a three-game home sweep of the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston over the course of five days.

The Warriors outshot the Celtics 45.2 percent to 43.5 percent en route to topping 100 points for the 16th straight game.

Boston's Kyrie Irving, who had averaged 30 points in his previous three games, went for 37 on 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range and 13-for-18 accuracy overall.

Curry said postgame of ESPN of facing off with Irving, "We bring the best out of each other. The battles are always fun. He's an amazing and talented player that can do some crazy things on the floor.

"We had to play good defense tonight. (That's what the) NBA's all about. Every night, you never know what's going to happen."

Brown totaled 20 points and Al Horford, returning from a concussion, notched a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double for the Celtics. Boston was without key reserve Marcus Smart (laceration on right hand).

Riding the strength of 11 field goals in their first 14 shots, the Celtics didn't trail until the second minute of the third quarter.

Irving had 19 points and Brown 14 in the first half, during which Boston went up by as many as 10 points on three occasions before settling for a four-point advantage at the break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

No shooting stars: Celtics outlast Wolves

The future didn't look especially bright on Friday night when two of the NBA's contenders-in-waiting clashed in Boston.

The Celtics and Timberwolves both hovered under 40 percent shooting for most of the night before Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter to capture a 91-84 victory over Minnesota at TD Garden.

Marcus Smart had 18 points off the bench to pace the Celtics. Kyrie Irving finished with 16 points (on 6-of-16 shooting) and eight assists and Aron Baynes doubled up with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Boston (32-10) followed up its 102-88 thumping of the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Wednesday with its fifth straight victory.

The Celtics led 66-62 going into the third quarter before opening up a double-digit lead at 81-71 after a pair of Irving free throws with 6:59 remaining and kept their distance after that.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 23 rebounds, Jimmy Butler scored 14 and Jamal Crawford had 13 off the bench for the Timberwolves.

Minnesota (24-16) lost its 12th straight game in Boston and hasn't beaten the Celtics on their home court since March 6, 2005.

The teams combined to shoot 38.8 percent from the field.

Boston's Al Horford experienced soreness in his left knee and was questionable to return at halftime, but he started the second half. He finished with seven points and eight assists.

Meanwhile, the Celtics' Marcus Morris sat out to rehabilitate his knee injury, but he will play Saturday at Brooklyn.

Minnesota played its fifth straight game without starting point guard Jeff Teague, who is sidelined due to a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his left knee.

A pair of Butler free throws gave Minnesota its biggest lead of the game at 55-48 with 4:53 to play in the third before Boston closed the period on an 18-7 run.

Towns piled up 14 points and 13 boards in the first half, his second first-half double-double of the season, but the Timberwolves were down 41-38 at the break. Neither side led by more than five in the half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Hayward return this season unlikely after surgery - agent

NEW YORK - Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is unlikely to return this season following surgery to repair severe left leg injuries, his agent told ESPN and the Boston Herald in reports Thursday.

Hayward underwent surgery Wednesday night in Boston to repair a fractured left tibia and dislocated left ankle, injuries he suffered after barely five minutes on the court in Tuesday's season-opening 102-99 loss at Cleveland.

Hayward's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN and the Herald that the former Utah Jazz star -- who signed a four-year deal worth $128 million to join the Celtics this season -- is unlikely to play again before next season.

While there is no timetable set for Hayward's return, Bartelstein was asked if a return this season was unrealistic and told the Herald: "I think so."

"But that's not what we're looking at right now. There's no timetable. It's a long process. He feels great that the surgery was successful."

He said the break was clean, meaning there was little other damage to Hayward's leg, and "we expect him to make a full recovery and return to his All-Star form".

The Celtics fell to 0-2 with a 108-100 home loss Wednesday to Milwaukee. A video message from Hayward in his hospital bed was played to the crowd before the game.

"I'm going to be all right," Hayward said. "It's hurting me that I can't be there for the home opener. I want nothing more than just to be with my teammates and walk out onto that floor tonight. I'll be supporting you guys from here."

Hayward was trying to score off a lob pass from Kyrie Irving when he collided with Cavaliers star LeBron James and landed awkwardly, with his ankle turning the wrong way in a gruesome injury that shook players on both clubs.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Celtics limp into showdown with Heat

BOSTON—It took seven games against the No. 8 seed in the East. But at long last, with Saturday’s bruising 85-75 Game 7 win over the Sixers, the Celtics are finally moving on. And for many an NBA observer, that means the Eastern Conference finals will be the matchup we’ve wanted all along, one that we’ve wanted to see since the unforgettable summer of 2010—Miami and Boston, the New Big Three vs. the Old Big Three, with a shot at the Finals on the line.

OK, this all didn’t come together the way one might have expected. The Celtics, after all, did play Miami in the playoffs last year, and lost humbly in five games in the second round. Besides, it’s highly unlikely that this showdown would be taking place at all if not for the knee injury to Derrick Rose, the star point guard for the top-seeded Bulls. Boston’s win over the Sixers was downright unsightly at times, with the two teams each averaging fewer than 90 points and combining to shoot 42.6 percent from the field.

The Celtics’ struggles were clear in Game 7, when they started off missing 14 straight 3-pointers and, after repeatedly putting Philadelphia on the ropes, kept allowing the Sixers to make a game of it. That left coach Doc Rivers to pull together lineups with duct tape and chicken wire. Rivers, after speculating before the game that he might dip into his reserves and use Sasha Pavlovic or Marquis Daniels, instead played each of his five starters 37 minutes or more. He got just seven points in a combined 30 minutes from his bench.

The problem was compounded when captain Paul Pierce, who was 6-for-14 with 15 points on the night, fouled out with four minutes to play, at which time Sixers coach Doug Collins said he thought, “We have a chance to win this.”

Indeed, they did. It wasn’t until Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo—who had an 18-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, but also committed seven turnovers—made a 3-pointer with a little more than two minutes to play in the game that the Celtics were able to breathe some relief.

And now, as was the case after their grinding first-round series with the Hawks, the Celtics get one day to breathe some relief before they play again. That’s problematic. Shooting guard Avery Bradley is out because of shoulder surgery, and Ray Allen probably should be out, too, gimpy as he is with bone spurs in his ankle—Allen made two huge fourth-quarter 3-pointers for the Celtics in Game 7, but he is still shooting just 26.9 percent from the arc, down from 43.5 percent during the year. Throw in the wear-and-tear that this lockout-shortened season has left on 36-year-old Kevin Garnett and 34-year-old Pierce, and this Celtics bunch is going into the next round with a hobble.

“It’s been taxing,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Obviously, we would have loved to have won in Philly. We would have loved to have won in Atlanta and finished it off. But, you know, those teams are good and they’re hard to play. We’ve done, I’m hoping, a good enough job of rest. We didn’t practice one time in this entire series, which is unheard of in a playoff series when you think about it. We walked through stuff. Literally, we didn’t run in the walk through. Tomorrow we’ll watch film. And then we’ll go play a game. The way we look at it with this team is, tomorrow is off and most of Monday off, and then we play. We just don’t have the bodies; don’t have the legs to do anything else.”

Many figured that the Celtics would be going to Miami for the conference finals last year, facing the newly formed Heat trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Boston was the defending East champ, and had been within a few minutes of beating the Lakers for the 2010 championship—and they did not take kindly to the celebratory atmosphere around the fusing together of the Heat’s stars. But that was before the rise of the Bulls, and the second-half decline of the Celtics, which took some of the luster out of the Heat-Celtics playoff matchup.

This will be different, if only because the Heat and Celtics have managed to survive into the league’s Final Four. Sure, Miami seems to have gotten its act together, but the series against the Pacers was no cakewalk, with Indiana at least rattling the Heat in the first three games. The Celtics figure to take a similar approach, and with it looking doubtful that the Heat will have Bosh (abdominal strain) available, Boston could go ahead and muck up the conference finals the way they did the first two rounds.

It was, for both the Heat and the Celtics, a winding road to this point. But they’ll take it.

“I love where we’re at,” Rivers said. “I told them after the game, this is exactly where we thought we’d be. We’re going to Miami.”

source: aol.sportingnews.com