NBA L2M: Refs Missed James Harden Foul on Jayson Tatum in 76ers' G1 Win vs. Celtics

The NBA's last-two-minute report from Monday's Game 1 between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden revealed that Sixers star James Harden should have been called for a foul on Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter.

With just under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia's 119-115 win over Boston, Harden inadvertently tripped Tatum as he was driving to the hoop and it wasn't called.

"Harden (PHI) steps forward into Tatum's (BOS) path and makes foot-to-foot contact with Tatum that affects his shot near the rim," the last-two-minute report states.

Tatum's missed basket on the play allowed Harden to get out of the paint quickly in transition and make a pass to Tyrese Maxey for a three-pointer, which was a key turning point in the game.

The Celtics had a strong offensive first half against the 76ers, taking a 66-63 lead into halftime.

However, Boston struggled mightily on the defensive end throughout the game, allowing Philly to shoot 50.6 percent from the field as Harden dropped 45 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining in the game.

It was an uncharacteristic defensive performance from Boston, which had the second-best defense in the NBA during the regular season, boasting a 110.6 defensive rating.

However, the C's defense has been one of the worst in the league this postseason as it owns a 116.3 defensive rating, which ranks 12th out of the 16 teams that made the playoffs.

Celtics center Al Horford even admitted to reporters after Monday's Game 1 loss that he believes the team lacked any sense of urgency on the defensive end.

"[Joel] Embiid being out tonight, as much as you want to say it wasn't a factor, I think it was. We have to be better," Horford said. "We have to understand that we have to be able to play with whatever happens, whatever variables. With our team I've just seen it happen with us for whatever reason."

Tatum made similar comments regarding Boston's defensive woes:

"I think we allow guys to be a little bit too comfortable at times. We definitely can be better. Sometimes we give too many offensive rebounds and that hurts us, second- and third-chance opportunities. It's all about picking up our pressure and trying to make people uncomfortable ... everyone is talented and they feel a little bit more free out there."

With Embiid out of the Philadelphia lineup for Game 1 due to a knee injury, the Celtics needed to capitalize on the opportunity to take the series lead.

Now down 1-0 entering Game 2, Boston could face an even bigger challenge if Embiid returns to the lineup.