Boston Celtics

BOSTON (AP) — Throughout the postseason, the Boston Celtics had played their best basketball away from home. Not anymore. Jaylen Brown scored 27 points, Jayson Tatum added 26 and the Celtics rode the energy of a raucous TD Garden crowd to beat back another third-quarter onslaught by Golden State in a 116-100 victory Wednesday night […]

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In Game 1, Boston showed its resilience. In Game 2, Golden State gets a chance to answer. Over the last two months, no teams in the NBA have shown more of a bounce-back ability than the Celtics and the Warriors. The latest example came Thursday […]

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Once Boston’s balanced roster of NBA Finals first-timers found a groove from long range, the determined Celtics delivered a memorable comeback and rallied past Stephen Curry and the Golden State old guard. Jaylen Brown fueled the late charge and scored 24 points, Al Horford hit […]

By JOSH DUBOW AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Steve Kerr looks at the way the Boston Celtics built a championship-caliber team he sees plenty of similarities to how his Golden State Warriors got to the NBA Finals in 2015. Boston built a core through the draft by taking Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown […]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics’ transition from a team that went from sitting just outside the top tier of the Eastern Conference to being four wins away from the franchise’s 18th championship began the moment Ime Udoka grasped the microphone at his introductory news conference last June. Flanked by the Celtics’ co-owners and new […]

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Back. Forth. Back. Forth. The Miami Heat want to see that pattern continue. The Boston Celtics hope to break that trend. And the team that prevails Wednesday night will be one game away from the NBA Finals. The Eastern Conference finals has been nothing more than […]

BOSTON (AP) — Huge leads. Lengthy scoring droughts. Blowouts. The Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are as close as can be, heading back to Miami all tied up at two wins apiece. But the individual games have been anything but. Boston scored 18 of the first 19 points on Monday […]

BOSTON (AP) — The Miami Heat left Jayson Tatum lying on the court with a pain in his neck in the closing minutes of Game 3. The Celtics All-Star did his part to make sure the Heat were hurting after Game 4. Tatum scored 31 points and Boston took its turn pounding Miami early, jumping […]

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — His team was down by 10 in the opening minutes, and Boston coach Ime Udoka was making no effort to hide his level of disappointment. His message was simple. “Wake up,” he told his team. Oh, they listened. And the Eastern Conference finals are all knotted […]

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Al Horford is back. Marcus Smart is planning to join him. The Boston Celtics are closer to whole for the Eastern Conference finals. Horford’s stay in the NBA’s health and safety protocols ended Thursday, a few hours before tipoff of Game 2 of the East title […]

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler doesn’t like being a called a scorer. Never mind that the moniker seems appropriate. He’s averaging nearly 30 points per game in this postseason, has reached the 40-point mark three times in his last 10 games after having zero such regular season games since […]

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — His team was down by eight at halftime, and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra went into the locker room ready to deliver a big speech. Turns out, one wasn’t needed. Jimmy Butler decided to let his play do the talking. Butler scored 27 of his 41 points […]

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — The NBA’s long regular season can be tedious, but make no mistake, it matters. Just ask the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns — two teams who have home-court advantage in Game 7 of their respective second-round NBA playoff series on Sunday thanks to superior regular-season records. […]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Boston forward/center Robert Williams missed his third straight game with an injured left knee as the Celtics tried to keep their season alive Friday night in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams had been listed as questionable on the Celtics’ injury report. Celtics coach Ume Idoka said at the team’s post-shootaround […]

BOSTON (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo was having his best shooting night of the playoffs. Milwaukee dominated on the boards. And still the Bucks trailed Boston by 14 points in a game that could send the defending NBA champions to the brink of elimination. That’s when Jrue Holiday showed the Defensive Player of the Year a […]

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Al Horford has played in more than two dozen postseason series in a 15-year NBA career but rarely has outwardly shown much emotion during all those appearances. That all changed Monday night. The 35-year-old Horford had just capped a 10-0 run by driving down the baseline, […]

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo found a way to get better shots and recapture his peak form just in time to help the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks regain the lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But it was the Boston Celtics’ bad timing that made the difference in the […]

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been ruled out of Tuesday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a bruised right thigh. Smart was hurt Sunday in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1. The defensive player of the year, was hit twice in his thigh and briefly left the […]

BOSTON (AP) — For most of Game 1 of their second-round series opener against Milwaukee, the Celtics did pretty much everything they wanted to on the defensive end against Giannis Antetokounmpo. They blitzed him early with multiple defenders when he received the ball in the post and forced him into turnovers. Boston Celtics forward Jayson […]