{"id":29726,"date":"2017-05-16T05:25:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T05:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=29726"},"modified":"2017-05-16T05:25:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T05:25:18","slug":"kelly-olynyk-improbable-hero-game-7-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/kelly-olynyk-improbable-hero-game-7-celtics.html","title":{"rendered":"Kelly Olynyk the improbable hero of Game 7 for Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tKelly Olynyk the improbable hero of Game 7 for Celtics<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>
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\n\tKelly Olynyk the improbable hero of Game 7 for Celtics:- Late in the fourth quarter, after his 3-pointer put the Boston Celtics out front by double digits, the TD Garden faithful celebrated Kelly Olynyk's improbable Game 7 performance by chanting his name.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t"Kelly! Kelly! Kelly!"<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaiah Thomas talked for the previous 72 hours about how legends were born in Game 7. But on a night that both Thomas and Bradley Beal were spectacular, it was Boston's 7-foot backup center who somehow stole the show.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOlynyk scored 12 of his career playoff high 26 points over a three-and-a-half-minute stretch of the fourth quarter as the Celtics emerged with a 115-105 triumph over the Washington Wizards in Game 7 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Garden.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBoston is headed back to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2012. The top-seeded Celtics host the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 on Wednesday night at TD Garden.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOlynyk is the first Celtics reserve to score 25-plus points in a playoff game since Eddie House scored 31 on May 6, 2009, against the Orlando Magic. Olynyk finished 10-of-14 shooting overall, all four of his misses coming from behind the 3-point arc, where he typically does his damage.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBut on this night, Olynyk picked the Wizards apart inside, feasting when the defense rushed to contest Thomas, who finished with a team-high 29 points.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBeal had a game-high 38 points and let the Wizards hang around in the fourth quarter. John Wall finished with just 18 points on 8-of-23 shooting overall.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTD Garden felt tense for the entirety of the middle quarters, and the Wall\/Beal tandem seemed to have an answer each time Boston went on a brief run to pull close. Over the final 1:46 of the third quarter, Thomas and Marcus Smart combined for a trio of 3-pointers as the Celtics closed on a 9-0 burst to take a six-point lead to the final frame.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBoston ultimately stretched its run to 18-2, culminating with Thomas' straightaway 3-pointer that had the Celtics out front 94-81 with 10 minutes to play. The Wizards called timeout and immediately responded with a 7-0 run that forced Celtics coach Brad Stevens to call his own timeout to settle his players with Boston's lead down to six.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThat's when Olynyk went to work and ensured Boston's spot in the conference finals.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Wizards were bidding for their first trip beyond the second round since 1979. That year, the top-seeded Bullets beat San Antonio in the East finals before falling to Seattle in five games in the NBA Finals.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSource:- http:\/\/www.espn.com\/blog\/boston\/celtics\/post\/_\/id\/4726063\/kelly-olynyk-the-improbable-hero-of-game-7<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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