The Boston Celtics are heading to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after a 112-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7.
Al Horford led the way with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Terry Rozier added a playoff career-high 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
With the Philadelphia 76ers awaiting them in the second round , here are three takeaways from the Celtics' Game 7 win.
Celtics shut down the fast-break
The last thing you want to do is let the Bucks get out in transition, with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe able to wreak havoc on the fast break.
In Game 6, the Bucks piled on 25 fast-break points.....in Game 7, the Celtics allowed ZERO.
With Giannis in early foul trouble, the Bucks struggled to get into their flow for most of the game, but the suffocating defence from Boston made life extra difficult.
Ther were no easy buckets in this one.
Fourth quarter hero = Terry Rozier
Every time the Bucks looked like they were about to make a run in the final frame, Terry Rozier had an answer.
Rozier scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including three back-breaking three-pointers. His fantastic run included a run of 10-straight Boston Celtics points.
Back-to-back triples for Rozier!#CUsRise | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/qDx89sxuA2
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2018
Khris Middleton did his best to bring the Bucks back in the fourth, with layup and a pair of threes cutting the lead back to 12, but again Rozier was determined to finish off the Bucks, burying this Kyrie-like up-and-under to send the Celtics crowd into hysterics.
TERRY. ROZIER.#CUsRise | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/gSYMP5me4G
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2018
It was just his night.
Points in the paint
Thanks largely to the hot hand of Al Horford, Boston Celtics made a living in the paint today, scoring 60 POINTS in the paint.
Horford connected on 13-of-17 from the field, but he wasn't alone, with Jayson Tatum (20 points) also getting to the rim at will.
Horford set the tone early, throwing down an alley-oop off the Tatum feed in the opening minute of the game.
Not a bad way to start a Game 7 💪 pic.twitter.com/tkXdJiPdFN
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 29, 2018
He kept the energy throughout, and was particularly dominant in the third quarter, connecting on 5-of-5 shots from the field, scoring 10 of his 26 points in the period.