The Boston Celtics pushed through on Monday night in a series-clinching win in Game 7 against the Washington Wizards to move onto the Eastern Conference Finals to face the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

Boston was able to reach the next round of the playoffs in large part due to a strong outing off the bench from veteran big man Kelly Olynyk contributing a playoff career-high 26 points on an efficient 10 of 14 shooting from the field along with five rebounds and four assists. He was responsible for more than half of the Celtics' bench production that outscored the Wizards' second unit 48-5 in the win.

Following the game, his teammate Isaiah Thomas, who scored a team-high 29 points in the win, had huge praise for Olynk's clutch performance, according to CSNNE.com.

“It was an unbelievable moment for us. It was great. You dream of winning Game 7s. You dream of playing in the garden and the fans were amazing. We didn't give up. We gave it our all and Kelly was MVP tonight. He did it all. He made 3-pointers, took it to the hole, played tough, and he's a big reason why we won tonight.”

It was easily Olynyk's best performance in this year's playoffs that included many big time buckets down the stretch of the fourth quarter scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the period. His production helped counteract the late push in the quarter from the Wizards with 12 of his points coming over a five-minute stretch keeping them ahead by at least four points.

Olynyk became the first Celtics reserve to record 25 points in a playoff game since Eddie House put up 31 against the Orlando Magic on May 6, 2009. His 26 points were also the highest total by a bench player in a Game 7 since Leandro Barbosa posted 26 points as a member of the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston now faces a much stiffer change in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers, who are a well-rest team with nine days off between series. For at least this instance, they can rejoice in coming through in a huge moment in the playoffs.