It's now done: the Boston Celtics have confirmed their ticket to the Eastern Conference semi-finals after Game 6 of the first round of the North American Basketball League (NBA) playoffs on Thursday, April 27 , beating Atlanta on its floor (128-120).
Boston can thank Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who together accounted for almost 50% of their team's points. The formation coached by Joe Mazzulla, who had already been surprised at the end of the meeting on Tuesday in match number five, had to work hard to obtain this success and avoid the decisive meeting.
The Celtics trailed 100-98 after three tough quarters and only won the decision in the final period, beating the Hawks 30-20 with an 11-0 streak. In those final 12 minutes, Marcus Smart, author of 22 points, was decisive. "I think Smart was great, especially late in the fourth quarter," Mazzulla said. We got organized, and then he was kind of the trigger. »
Favorites in the East
In the ranks of Atlanta, Trae Young, the providential man of game number five, was still the leading scorer for his team with 30 points, and delivered 10 assists. But he died in the second half of the game, in which he only scored 5 points, and wasn't very skilled, shooting just 9 of 28.
“Tatum and Brown – authors of 30 and 32 points respectively – were untenable, which we feared, analyzed the coach of the defeated, Quin Snyder. We tried to cut their passing game and their dribbling, but as soon as we defended less well on them, they feasted. »
After the surprise elimination of the Milwaukee Bucks, the best team of the regular season, the Celtics are the favorites in the East. But watch out: Ahead of last season's finalists stand the Philadelphia 76ers who, carried by Joel Embiid and James Harden, swept the Brooklyn Nets. The other semi-final of this conference will oppose the New York Knicks to the Miami Heat from Sunday.
In the West, the first semi-final between Denver and Phoenix will start on Saturday. The other poster will pit the winners of the series between Golden State, the defending champion, and Sacramento against those of the series between the Lakers and Memphis. For now, the Warriors and Lakers, who lead 3 to 2, are on waivers.
