Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to a 112-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to reach the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
Tatum’s 51 points broke the Game 7 record of 50 set by Golden State’s Stephen Curry against the Sacramento Kings earlier this month.
He also added 13 rebounds, five assists and a few steals.
Boston will now face the Miami Heat – the team they beat in seven games in last year’s Conference Finals.
The series opener takes place on Thursday at 01:30 BST.
The Celtics’ defense limited NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, who was held to 15 points.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points for Boston, which opened up a close third quarter game by beating the 76ers 33-10.
Philadelphia went six minutes of the period without a basket and trailed by 26 going into the fourth, when Boston pushed the lead to 30 with less than four minutes left after Tatum was taken out of the game.
“It was awesome,” Tatum told ESPN. “It was a back and forth series. Obviously I didn’t play the first half of the last game well and I was just happy to have the opportunity to bounce back.
“To go home, Mother’s Day game seven. I had to do a special performance for her.”
It was another crushing outing for the 76ers who were led by 19 points from Tobias Harris, while star guard James Harden scored just nine as they were limited to 37.3% shooting from the floor. .
