New: Fans scared; Celtics wins to finals

During Wednesday’s NBA playoff action, the Boston Celtics secured a 113-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, clinching their third consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Al Horford contributed significantly with 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and six of Boston’s 19 three-pointers. This performance places Horford in the elite company of LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players aged 37 or older to record a 20-point, 15-rebound, five-assist playoff game in NBA history.

“We had a great opportunity at home to handle this, and I knew it was going to take a lot more than handling it normally,” Horford said. “It’s special. It’s something that’s hard to do. … This is another positive step of where we want to get to.”

The Celtics wrapped up the series in five games and now await the winner of the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers series, with the Knicks leading 3-2. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, making their sixth and fifth conference finals appearances respectively, highlighted the strong culture within the team.

“It just shows the character of the team, the organization. People might think it’s a given we’re supposed to be here,” Tatum said. “We’re all in this together. … We’re doing something right.”

Despite missing key players All-Star Donovan Mitchell (calf), center Jarrett Allen (rib), and key reserve Caris LeVert (knee), the Cavaliers put up a commendable fight. Evan Mobley scored a playoff career-high 33 points, and Marcus Morris Sr. added 25 points, including five three-pointers. “I was proud of their effort,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

“This has been a difficult year for us, for a bunch of different reasons. They never found the time to fold on each other. All they did was find ways to compete.”

The Cavaliers now face a summer of uncertainty, with Mitchell’s future and Bickerstaff’s coaching status under scrutiny. Mitchell is eligible for a contract extension but has not yet indicated his intentions, while Bickerstaff’s future remains uncertain despite a 170-159 record and two playoff appearances.

As the Celtics look to build on their momentum in the upcoming conference finals, the Cavaliers will regroup and reassess their strategy for the future.