Celtics Holds Off Wizards 115-105, Advances to Conference Finals

The Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards 115-105 in Game 7 of the
Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden on Monday and will advance to the
Eastern Conference Finals to play the Cavaliers. With a six-point lead heading
into the final quarter, the Celtics (8-5) were looking to be in great shape to
clinch the series. Just two minutes into the period, an Isaiah Thomas
three-pointer had pushed the lead to 13, but then the Wizards (7-6) managed to
make a run right back and get the deficit back to five. Boston’s next run,
however, was ignited by the most unlikely of sources. Kelly Olynyk went on to
score 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and was the ultimate difference
maker in the Celtics’ victory Monday. He shot an impressive 10-of-14 from the
field and 4-of-5 from behind the arc in 28 minutes off the bench. In the end,
Olynyk led a bench unit that finished with 48 total points, while Washington got
just five points from their second unit. They did, however, get a jaw-dropping
38 points from shooting guard Bradley Beal, as the shooting guard played 46
minutes Monday and did all he could to carry his team to the conference finals.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as the Wizards weren’t able to get a good
performance from John Wall in the final 19 minutes of the game. In that final
stretch, Wall shot 0-of-7 from three, 0-of-11 from the field overall and scored
zero points. He did still finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11
assists, while Otto Porter Jr. managed to notch a double-double of his own with
20 points and 10 rebounds, but the lack of bench production and the inability to
get stops on the defensive end is what ultimately ended Washington’s season. The
Celtics will now remain home to play the Cavaliers on Wednesday in Game 1 of the
Eastern Conference Finals.