Celtics win in OT, move within victory of sweep

Al Horford scored the go-ahead basket for the Celtics late in overtime in a wild Game 3 in which the 76ers gave away the ball and confetti, leading the Celtics to a 101-98 win on Saturday in Philadelphia.

The Celtics go for a sweep of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday.

The ending to regulation was about as wild as it gets for both teams. JJ Redick threw an errant pass to no one that was scooped up by Terry Rozier, who threw ahead to Jaylen Brown for the basket and an 89-87 lead with 1.8 seconds left.

Marco Belinelli then stunned everyone with a falling 22-footer in front of the 76ers bench as time expired that sent the game into overtime — and caused confetti to mistakenly be sent out of a cannon. There was about a seven-minute delay while team employees, and some players, worked to clean up the mess on the court.

Belinelli opened OT with a 23-footer and Redick made a 3 that appeared to take him off the hook.

But the Celtics wouldn’t let the 76ers pull away, and Horford got free for a layup with 5.5 seconds left that gave the visitors a 99-98 lead. Ben Simmons then threw the ball away after a timeout and Horford sealed the win with two free throws.

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points and Rozier had 18 for the Celtics.

Joel Embiid had 22 points and 19 rebounds for the Sixers, Redick scored 18 points and Simmons 16.

Talking the talk: Rajon Rondo and Draymond Green have won NBA titles and never been known to shy away from conflict on the court.

Now their combustible convergence in the playoffs is providing a spicy subplot to the Western Conference semifinals between the Pelicans and Warriors.

“We’re here to fight,” Rondo said after the Pelicans’ lopsided Game 3 win that trimmed the Warriors’ series lead to 2-1. “With my guys on the court, I’m going to fight as hard as I can and do whatever it takes.”

Green and Rondo had to be separated after whistles twice in the first three games — never mind some other antics in the flow of the game — and they’ll be back at it again Sunday.

Green bristled at the notion that he started any of the dust-ups with Rondo, insinuating that Rondo was the instigator. He said his awareness of Rondo’s intentions is why he hasn’t been suckered into escalations that could result in a technical foul or ejection.

“I’m not an idiot,” Green said. “I can see what they’re trying to accomplish (from) a mile away.”