Jayson Tatum, Celtics Win OT Thriller over Joel Embiid, 76ers to Make Series 3-0
The confetti fell from the ceiling at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday. Turns out it should have been an anvil on the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff hopes.
Al Horford hit a go-ahead layup with 5.5 seconds remaining in overtime and added two free throws late to help the Boston Celtics earn a 101-98 win over the Sixers. The Celtics now hold a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.
The Sixers fell apart down the stretch in regulation and overtime with a series of gaffes that highlighted their inexperience. A JJ Redick turnover with 4.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter was atoned for by a last-second Marco Belinelli shot to send the game to overtime, but the Sixers could not overcome themselves in the end.
Ben Simmons made two critical mistakes in the waning seconds of overtime, both of which arguably cost the Sixers the game. He hauled in an offensive rebound with 18 seconds remaining and the Sixers ahead 98-97. He then proceeded to immediately take and miss a two-point shot, though the shot clock was off at the time. After Horford hit the go-ahead layup, Simmons turned the ball over on the inbounds pass on the Sixers' ensuing possession.
The Sixers frankly looked like a team scared of the limelight in crunch time. They were consistently sloppy, their offense stilted by bad possessions and their defense lacking in the same cohesion that carried them to the second round.
From a coaching perspective, Brad Stevens has run laps around Brett Brown in this series.
Jayson Tatum has also outplayed fellow rookie Simmons, scoring a Celtics-high 24 points in the win. He and Horford scored all 12 of Boston's points in the overtime period. Horford scored seven of his 13 points after regulation.
Jaylen Brown, who was returning from a hamstring injury, finished with 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Brown looked completely lost on both ends of the floor in the first half before getting into a rhythm in the third quarter.
The Celtics survived a game that would often go long stretches without either team making much offensive headway. They made just 10 of their 38 shots from distance. Tatum and Brown were the only two players on the team to make half their shots among players who took more than two.
Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers with 22 points and 19 rebounds, but it was an inefficient effort. He shot just 10-of-26 from the field and went to the line three times. The Celtics seemed perfectly happy with allowing him to chuck up shots out of the post, taking the air out of the ball and keeping the Sixers shooters out of rhythm.
Philadelphia was just 9-of-30 from distance.
Redick (18 points), Simmons (16 points, eight rebounds, eight assists), Ersan Ilyasova (14 points) and Belinelli (12 points) were all in double figures for the Sixers.
Terry Rozier (18 points, seven rebounds) had one of his best games on the road during this postseason to round out the double-figure scorers for Boston.
The Celtics, who were pushed to seven games in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks, will look to close out the Sixers in Philadelphia on Monday.
