Sixers' Paul George discusses illness, rallying to eliminate Celtics

BOSTON -- The Philadelphia 76ers received a bit of a scare on Saturday afternoon when Paul George was placed on the injury report due to an illness on his 36th birthday. The 9-time All-Star had been a key piece to this series and the Sixers could not afford not to have him in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics.

George ended up fighting through his illness and put up 13 points while knocking down three triples and three rebounds while playing excellent defense. He was terrific in a 109-100 Game 7 win over the Celtics to help the Sixers advance to Round 2.

"I mean, it was, no doubt about it, I was gonna play," George said after the win. "It's Game 7. We got to this point and you just gotta leave it all on the floor, but it was a rough night. I didn't really sleep all night. I was just up coughing. Nose was running, sore throat, so it was a rough night, but took some medicine when I got up. The team allowed me to stay back and rest. So, I was able to get a little Z's and just try to get as ready as possible for tonight (Saturday)."

Thanks to the play of George, and plenty of others, the Sixers were able to rally from a 3-1 deficit for the first time in franchise history to win a series. It was also the first time they beat the Celtics in a playoff series since 1982. The historical context for Philadelphia is something that should be celebrated in many ways.

"I mean, we stayed together," said George. "We stayed connected. We didn't panic. We knew what we were up against. We just had to come out and do our part. We believed in the talent in this room. We believed in our abilities, and get those guys credit, man. Celtics is No. 2 all year for a reason. That's a good program over there. Great matchup. Great opponent, but I thought we just stayed connected all series."

George and the Sixers will now take on the New York Knicks in Round 2 starting on Monday at Madison Square Garden.