TD Garden has been rocking this postseason, to the point where visiting players keep praising the crowd and Celtics players keep giving credit to the fans for playing a huge role in Boston’s playoff success.
Jaylen Brown previously has mentioned playing at home can be like having the best sixth man in the league, and the Celtics swingman doubled down Wednesday night after Boston defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-83 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to take a 3-2 series lead.
“The energy level, we feed off the crowd,” Brown told reporters after the game, via NBC Sports Boston. “The crowd is like the best sixth man in the league, is what the tale says. So when we’re out there, we can definitely feel the energy the Garden is giving us. And we use it to do what we gotta do.”
The Celtics are 10-0 at home in the playoffs after going 27-14 in their own barn during the regular season. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and J.J. Redick of the Philadelphia 76ers all have praised the atmosphere in Boston since losing to the Celtics in the second round, and LeBron James pointed out how difficult it is to play at TD Garden leading up to his team’s Game 5 loss.
Fortunately for the Cavs, the Eastern Conference finals now shift to Cleveland for Game 6, and the Celtics are just 1-6 on the road this postseason. But Game 7 will take place in Boston if the Cavs stave off elimination Friday night, and the “best sixth man in the league” could be the difference between the C’s advancing to the NBA Finals or going home for the summer.
