The one sore spot for Holiday was his marksmanship. He shot just 5 of 17 from the field. It was the most field-goal attempts he had in this seven-game series.
"We were trying to attack the basket, and there were a lot of shots that didn't go our way, along with myself personally. But I really tried to get to the line and make something happen," Holiday said.
Holiday helped force the seventh game with 20 points during the Sixers 82-75 win in Game 6.
"It was a good run, and we put up a good fight," Holiday said.
Against the Celtics, Holiday averaged a team-high 13.9 points in the seven games. He also averaged 5.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals.
"Jrue played great and is going to be a great player in this league for years to come, and he really grew up in these playoffs," said forward Elton Brand, who had 15 points in the Game 7 loss.
The Sixers trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but Holiday hit a key three with 6 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third to cut the margin to 49-43.
Holiday kept making big plays in the third quarter. With 1:13 left, Holiday stole the ball from Kevin Garnett after a rebound and scored on a layup. That cut Boston's lead to 53-50.
Holiday was replaced by Jodie Meeks with 20.3 seconds left in the third quarter and the Sixers trailing by 53-52.
In leading that third-quarter comeback, Holiday had five points, four assists, and two steals.
He returned with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter and the Sixers trailing by 62-55.
As the Sixers roared back in the fourth, Holiday kept making clutch plays. He found Andre Iguodala in the corner for a three-pointer that got the Sixers to within 71-68 with 4:30 left.
That was the last great run for the Sixers and Holiday.
Holiday, who turns 22 next month, was shown great respect by the Celtics, who frequently double-teamed him this series in an attempt to force him to get rid of the ball. Afterward a few Celtics passed on words of encouragement.
"You talk to them after, and they say kind words to you. It's a good feeling," Holiday said. "They have a lot of all-stars on the team, a lot of veterans who I was probably watching in high school. It's a compliment and honor for them to say that to me."
Contact Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com or on Twitter @sjnard.
