It is also the anniversary of two playoff victories since the season of Boston’s last title in 2007-08. The first was a 115-105 Game 7 closeout win over the Washington Wizards in the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals despite 38 points from Wiz guard Bradley Beal.
The win was secured by a huge game from reserve big Kelly Olynyk, who scored 26 points off the bench.
Point guard Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 29 points and 12 assists, and big man Al Horford added 15 points, 6 boards and 5 assists. “I knew it would be a big time game tonight. I knew it wouldn’t be easy at all,” Thomas said via the Associated Press. “And we came out on top.”