Game 7 showdown to settle Celtics-76ers series

Associated Press

WALTHAM, Mass.

Kevin Garnett won’t be posting any comments from the 76ers owners on his mental bulletin board. The Philadelphia fans won’t be getting all riled up over comments deriding their loyalty.

“It’s Game 7. There’s no tomorrow,” Celtics captain Paul Pierce said before practice on Friday. “If this is not the most important thing to you right now, there is no way to motivate you as a basketball player.”

The Celtics and Sixers will play tonight for a spot in the Eastern Conference finals, where one of them will face the Miami Heat for the right to play for the NBA title.

The 76ers forced the series to a decisive game by beating Boston 82-75 on Wednesday, keeping alive a surprising run that started when they knocked out top-seeded Chicago in the first round.

“I think they’re excited about the chance to go in there and have this Game 7 and see what we can do,” Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said. “I don’t think we have any fear.

“I haven’t felt that in our guys at all. When we have played poorly, it’s not out of being fearful. I think sometimes we don’t execute well. That to me has nothing to do with whether or not the guys believe they can do it.”

The Sixers have not been to a Game 7 since 2001, and Collins said he was relying on the energy of a young team that has just one 30-year-old, Elton Brand, getting significant playing time.

The Celtics, who have three in the starting lineup alone, are 3-2 in seventh games since the new Big Three was assembled in 2007.

Brand said his younger teammates are ready. Philadelphia point guard Jrue Holiday, who called Game 6 the “end of the world,” said this would be “The End of the World II.”

“They’re not scared of the moment at all, which is really good for our team,” Brand said. “Some of the older guys are saying, ‘Hey, we don’t get this opportunity too many times. So let’s try to win this game.”’