Tatum seals Celtics thriller over Sixers, Embiid
Jayson Tatum drained a three-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to give the Boston Celtics a thrilling 110107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a heavyweight Eastern Conference clash.
The 571st meeting between the two NBA rivals lived up to its billing with the lead changing hands five times in an enthralling contest which ebbed and flowed before Tatum’s stunning late winner.
Tatum had struggled to find his range throughout the game at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center but finally delivered when it mattered to give Boston victory on a night that saw Sixers talisman Joel Embiid score 41 points in vain.
Embiid almost forced overtime following Tatum’s late three-pointer, launching a fulllength three-pointer which found the net but was just a fraction too late to beat the buzzer.
“I wasn’t playing my best, just wanted to find a way to impact the game at both ends,” said Tatum, who finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists after going 7-for-17 from the field. “It’s tough to win in this league. We just showed tonight our resilience and ability to figure it out.”
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 26 points on a night when six Boston players finished in double digits.
The victory extended Boston’s lead at the top of the Eastern Conference at 44-17, one game ahead of Milwaukee, second with 42-17. Philadelphia remain third on 39-20 following the loss.
The defeat was hard on Embiid, who had been magnificent throughout to help Philadelphia move 15 points clear at 67-52 early in the third period.
Embiid made 17 of 18 from the free throw line and finished with 12 rebounds and five assists in addition to his 41 points.
James Harden added 21 points with Tobias Harris pitching in with 19.
Elsewhere, a meeting between the top two teams in the Western Conference saw the Memphis Grizzlies take down the top-ranked Denver Nuggets 112-94.
Memphis took the lead near the end of the first quarter and never looked back, at one stage stretching their lead to 35 points against an out-of-sorts Denver team.