Boston’s Jaylen Brown takes a shot while being defended by Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid during Game 6 on Thursday night in Philadelphia. Matt Slocum/Associated Press
TD Garden has been lacking in energy at points during this year’s NBA playoffs, and Jaylen Brown has noticed.
The Celtics star wants to see that change for Game 7 for the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinal series with Philadelphia.
After the Boston’s Game 6 victory on Thursday night, Brown had a message for Celtics fans ahead of Sunday’s Game 7 at TD Garden, where the Celtics and Sixers will face off for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I’m hoping it’s gonna be loud and it’s gonna be rocking,” Brown said. “Celtics fans, they love to call us out, right? So I’m gonna call you guys out this time. Energy in the Garden has been OK at best all playoffs. Game 7, if you’re there or if you’re not there, if you’re watching at a bar, if you’re watching down the street at a friend’s house, I don’t care. I need you to be up, I need you to come with the energy, because we’re gonna need every bit of it. So I’m calling you guys out. Let’s make sure the Garden is ready to go.”
The Philadelphia crowd at Wells Fargo Center was electric and raucous for Game 6, but Brown thinks Boston can take it to another level on Sunday.
“It was good, but when the Garden gets going there’s nothing like it,” Brown said. “So I’m expecting Game 7 to be a great basketball environment and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys there.”
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum knows the Celtics didn’t give their fans much to get excited about in an embarrassing and flat Game 5 performance. He’s expecting a much better atmosphere for Game 7.
“I’m excited to go back and kinda like redeem ourselves in front of our home crowd,” Tatum said. “I’m excited to see them. The building is gonna be rocking. We need everybody there, everybody full of energy. Cause we gonna need it. And I know they’re gonna bring it. We have the best fans in the world.”
Game 7 will tip off on Sunday at either 3:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. If the Warriors beat the Lakers on Friday night to force a Game 7, Celtics-76ers will be at 8 p.m. Sunday. If not, it will be at 3:30 p.m.
JOE MAZZULLA has taken his share of criticism ahead of Game 6 as the Celtics rookie coach has made a number of strategic missteps that contributed to two straight losses.
In the midst of praising his head coach for a key Game 6 adjustment of inserting Robert Williams III into the starting lineup for Derrick White, Marcus Smart acknowledged that the criticism Mazzulla has taken up to that point was warranted in a candid admission.
“I was ecstatic about it,” Smart said of the starting lineup change. “To be able to have Rob in there, he changes the game a lot. Being able to have a lob threat, a rim threat, to be able to protect the rim on the other end. He’s huge for us. And I was proud to have him on the court.
“And that just goes to show you Joe’s learning just like all of us. I know he’s been killed a lot, rightfully so. He needs to make some adjustments and he did that. And that’s all you can ask for. Just continue to be the best he can be. And it takes everybody. It’s a full team effort.”
Williams and Al Horford had played just one minute together with the starters in the entire series prior to Game 6. The partnership allowed Boston to play some of its best defensive of the year, allowing just 74 point per 100 possessions with Williams on the floor.
MAZZULLA STOPPED TATUM on Thursday night, pulled aside the Celtics star after a timeout and delivered a message.
“I love you,” Mazzulla said.
The Sixers were ahead by two points, five minutes from eliminating Boston to advance to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2001. Tatum, who scored 36 points in the previous game, had been largely absent on the offensive end in a must-win game. And that’s all the rookie head coach had to say?
“That’s it,” Mazzulla said. “It’s a pretty powerful statement.”
Perhaps that’s all Tatum needed to hear as he scored 12 of his 19 points after that message. Tatum entered halftime with just one point and made just 1 of his first 14 shots. But Tatum kept shooting. He knocked down four 3-pointers in the final 4 minutes, 14 seconds. A little love went a long way.
“He’s told me that before,” Tatum said. “There’s been moments throughout the season when things are going great and things aren’t going great that we just pull each other to the side. He’s done an unbelievable job in his first year and I know there’s been a lot of questions and doubts and I’ve told him a lot of times that ‘I got you. I got your back.’ We’re in this together. I love that relationship.”
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