Celts get act together
Solid in road win vs. Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — The crowd showed up geared for a playoff game, and followed the name of each Celtics starter with a roaring “Sucks!” during introductions.
But after being called out by Marcus Morris three nights earlier, the Celtics had already heard the worst. Despite the absence of Kyrie Irving, rehabbing a right knee sprain back home, the Celtics pulled together for one of their most connected performances of the season with a 112-109 win against Philadelphia.
Al Horford, while also slowing down Joel Embiid despite the Sixers center’s 23 points on 9-for-22 shooting, played one of his most dominant games of the season with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Celtics survived bad shooting nights from Marcus Smart (3-for-14), Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, with all three players hitting important shots in the fourth.
Gordon Hayward hit his sixth 3-pointer of the night for a 105-103 Celtics lead with 1:50 left. Tobias Harris missed, Smart was fouled and was only able to hit the first of two, leaving the Celtics ahead by three points with 1:576 left. But Jimmy Butler, fouled by Jayson Tatum attempting a 3, could only hit one of his three tries.
Hayward threw the ball away – a turnover upheld by video review – but Joel Embiid lost the ball under pressure from Horford, and down the other end Smart blew through a mixup in Sixers coverage for the dunk and a 108-104 lead with 24 seconds left.
Butler came right back with a drive eight seconds later and converted the three-point play after a foul by Tatum, leaving the Celtics with 16.1 seconds and a 108-107 lead.
Horford was fouled with 13.1 seconds left, rolled in his first attempt and swished the second for a 110-107 lead.
The Sixers wasted time attempting to find an open shot, with Tobias Harris finally missing from downtown. Embiid’s put-back with 2.4 seconds left Philly trailing again by a point, this time at 110-109.
Tatum, fouled with 1.8 seconds left, hit twice.
The buzzer sounded as Butler attempted to launch a deep desperation three.
Consecutive bombs from Tatum and Rozier gave the Celtics a 100-94 lead with 5:10 left that would soon be undone.
Embiid and Ben Simmons combined for every point in a 7-0 run, each with a thtreepoint play, including Embiid’s bulling drive over Horford. He hit the free throw for a 103-102 edge.
The Celtics have had some nightmarish third quarters of late, and had to consider last night’s a success, considering that they started with a 52-46 lead and exited leading by three after a 4-0 run by Butler over the last 43 seconds.
The result was a 77-74 Celtics lead that Hayward boosted from 20 feet for the first hoop of the fourth quarter.
Rozier’s drive for his first basket of the night was timely, good for an 85-79 lead, with Hayward hitting his fifth 3-pointer a minute later for a 90-81 lead.
But the Sixers reeled them back in with a 8-2 run that started on a Jonathan Simmons 3-pointer and ended with Embiid’s second three of the quarter, cutting the Celtics lead to 92-89 and forcing a timeout.
Smart bulled his way to a foul by J.J. Redick, who picked up a technical foul protesting the call. Tatum hit the tech free throw, and Smart only hit one of two, leaving the Celtics leading by a 94-89 thread.
A thread, because after an enraged Redick hit a bomb from the corner, and Smart missed his own open three, the Celtics guard sent Jimmy Butler to the line to take three free throws. The Sixers went two-for-3, leaving the game in a 94-94 tie with six minutes left.
But the Celtics hit back hard with back-to-back threes from Tatum and Rozier for a 100-94 lead.