Tonight, the Celtics ran out of luck in Philly. Their inconsistent play can only take them so far, and it showed. Regardless of the result, this was still an incredible game. There was plenty of exciting things that happened during the game. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t bounce Boston’s way tonight.
Things were looking great early on. The Celtics opened up the game on a 11-3 run, but didn’t stay up for too long. The Sixers responded and had the game tied at 21 about halfway through the quarter. By the end of the period, the Celtics had rebuilt their lead to 9 points. The second quarter was even better for the C’s. They were able to extend their lead to as many as 15, but weren’t able to keep it that big. By halftime, the 76ers had cut it to 11 after 3 free throws for JJ Redick before halftime. The third quarter was where things went sideways a bit. Within the opening minute, Marcus Smart got himself ejected by pushing Joel Embiid. This was where the momentum really shifted. After the incident, the Sixers quickly cut the lead down to 4. The Celtics responded with a run that built it back up a bit, but then Philly managed to get themselves a lead about halfway through the third. The C’s led by 5 after 3. The fourth was where things hit rock bottom. The Celtics had seemed to figure things out early on and built a 9 point lead. From that point on they couldn’t do anything right. They allowed Philly back into the game, and were outscored by 12 for the remainder of the game. The Sixers came away with the 118-115 win.
As disappointing as the Celtics were down the stretch tonight, this loss doesn’t sting all that bad. Maybe it’s the fact that the Celtics have won 21 of the last 25 games against Philly, and it doesn’t feel all that important to have lost once. However, this loss puts the Celtics back to 2 games behind the Pacers for that important fourth spot.
I’m not going to spend too much time talking about the officiating because the Celtics lost this game without the referees, but I think that 43 free throws is a bit excessive. Philadelphia scored 118 points tonight, 39 of those points were free throws. The Celtics shot 16 free throws.
Despite the skewed free throw attempts, the Celtics still should’ve won this game. They were up 9 in the fourth, and squandered that lead. Things were back and forth in the closing minutes, and they stopped being able to execute late. This is the second game in a row where they’ve struggled a lot down the stretch, not looking great.
Kyrie missed two easy layups by his standards, which ultimately ended up being a big factor in the final score. Had he made those, the Celtics could’ve stopped the momentum that the 76ers had built, and possibly closed this one out.
The defense down the stretch was also pretty awful. Jimmy Butler was getting wide open looks from outside. He caught fire and scored 15 fourth quarter points. They once again got slaughtered by the pick and roll. The poor defense ending up costing them when Simmons got an and 1 late in the game.
The defense was bad for a few reasons. The first being that they just got outplayed. The Sixers executed far better down the stretch than the Celtics did. The second (and third) reason is that they were missing key defenders for the entire second half. Aron Baynes sprained his ankle in the second quarter. This allowed Joel Embiid to really start abusing the Celtics inside. Marcus Smart getting ejected didn’t help the cause either. It didn’t seem like there was any reason for him to act the way that he did, and it really cost Boston the game. From that point on, the momentum swung over to Philly’s favor.
Looking at the box score, I’m not sure why Jaylen Brown didn’t take more shots. He was really great in the third quarter when the Celtics were reeling. He was 3-3 from the field for 6 points. Meanwhile, Marcus Morris got 9 shots, and only made 2 of them. The shots on this team need to be distributed it a bit better. Morris has been struggling, while Jaylen Brown has been excelling. It might be time that Morris gets some time on the bench while Brown starts. However, Brown fits well into the bench role because he can lead the offense when the second unit is in. Morris’s shots need to go to Kyrie or Horford. They just aren’t falling right now and it’s tough to watch. He missed a big one down the stretch that he would usually make.
Terry Rozier had a great game with 20 points off the bench. He shot 50% overall and from deep. He certainly did his part in backing up his tweet mocking the Sixers. Maybe he should go after every team that the Celtics have next. I hope he can continue playing like this come playoff time. His scoring off the bench along with Brown’s and Hayward’s, can set the Celtics apart from the rest of the top teams in the East.
You still have to respect the effort that Philadelphia gave tonight. They came to play, and outlasted the Celtics.
Cue the Confetti!
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