Confetti break for Boston
PHILADELPHIA— Al Horford scored the go-ahead basket for Boston late in overtime in a Game 3 where the Philadelphia 76ers gave away the basketball and the confetti, leading the Celtics to a 101-98 win on Saturday night.
The Celtics go for the sweep on Monday.
The ending to regulation was wild. JJ Redick threw away the basketball on an errant pass that was scooped by Terry Rozier who threw to Jaylen Brown for the basket and an 89-87 lead.
Marco Belinelli stunned everyone with a falling 22-footer in front of the 76ers bench as time expired that sent the game into overtime — and confetti mistakenly blasted from the cannon. There was about a seven-minute delay to clean up the mess on the court. Some players even scooped up confetti as everyone waited for the start of overtime.
Belinelli opened OT with a 23footer and Redick followed with a three-pointer that appeared to take him off the hook. But the Celtics wouldn’t let them pull away and Horford escaped for a layup with 5.5 seconds that gave Boston a 99-98 lead. Ben Simmons then threw the ball away and Horford sealed the win with two free throws. Jayson Tatum scored 24 points and Rozier had 18. Joel Embiid had 22 points and 19 rebounds for the Sixers, Redick scored 18 and Simmons 16.
The highlight came on Belinelli’s shot at the horn that had the Sixers mobbing him in a wild celebration. Confetti Guy pushed the button too early and the rectangular pieces were soaring everywhere.
Confetti Guy — who declined to give his name — came over to press row and said the Sixers “better win or I’m done.”
They didn’t.