He takes every minute of the seven-game series, but the defending champions have given up their crown. The Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 92-87 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series to push Boston into the final four and sent the Raptors home after a few admirable title defenses. Jason Tatum led Boston with 29 points, while Fred Vanville was Toronto’s leading scorer in the 20th.
The Celtics will now face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Conference final, a match that looks familiar but includes almost no faces from their previous playoff duel. Udonis Haslem is the only player on both rosters to have played in the last Eastern Conference Conference final match between the two teams in 2012. For so long, LeBron James and Paul Pierce, Hello Tatum and Jimmy Butler.
The Raptors, the No. 2 seed owners at the Eastern Conference, go home on a sour note, but should be happy throughout the season. Estimating that many also struggled to reach the playoffs after losing the poet Leonard, they came with a brief break in the Eastern Convention finals. They will return next season, but for now, the Celtics are the most seeded Eastern Conference team left in the region.
