Walker: Celts a ‘special group’ who ‘fought, clawed’ for win vs. Raps

The Boston Celtics are special for Kemba Walker — special for how hard they play together, and for how far they’ve come.

“Unreal,” exclaimed Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker. “It feels unreal!”

“It’s a great feeling,” he added when asked about his emotional state after a grueling Game 7 win over the Toronto Raptors in the East Semis on Friday evening.

No stranger to deep postseason runs at the college level — he did win 11 straight games to carry UConn to its third NCAA title in 2011, after all — he is still getting accustomed to the NBA version as a mentor of sorts to his younger teammates.

But he’s also a student of sorts, given young wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have both been to the East Finals before.

Walker’s previous team (the Charlotte Hornets) never cleared the first round in his time there.

“It took us seven games,” he explained, to underscore the challenge.

“It’s a special group we have, but we fought, clawed — much respect to Toronto. Those guys are tough; They know how to play. They play hard, but we stuck with it.”

“I’ve been in the playoffs two times before this, so from that and the last time I was in the playoffs was five years ago,” Walker explained.

“So to be here in my first year and accomplish this thing, when I went to the Eastern Conference Finals to play against a really good Miami Heat team — and we have a chance to advance past that. It’s big-time; it’s a special feeling for me.”

“It feels good to be able to play meaningful basketball,” he added.

“I’m super excited, but can’t get too high, you know?” observed Walker, invoking his inner Brad Stevens. “It feels good, we’re definitely going to celebrate a little tonight, but we’ve got work to do.”

What comes next for the New Yorker and the Celtics?

“We just finished playing these guys,” said Walker. “We’re going to take our time, rest our bodies up, take a few days and get prepared for a great team.”

The former Husky had some praise for the fallen Raptors as well.

“Those guys, they balled last series,” said Walker. “Those guys are nothing to play with.”

Until Tuesday, the Bronx native and Boston can relax a little and enjoy the hard-fought win.

And then the struggle begins anew.

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