Celtics win ugly, take a 3-0 series lead over Philadelphia
They were on the ropes, ripe for one last Joel Embiid power move, or one of those stealthy Josh Richardson 3-pointers to end it.
Jayson Tatum started in foul trouble and needed a long time to find his rhythm, Jaylen Brown had to start missing from downtown sometime, and as Embiid powered his way to 30 points, including 14 made free throws, Philadelphia appeared to be on the verge of its first win of the series.
Except that this is simply a Marcus Smart kind of game — a 102-94 win over Philadelphia for a 3-0 first round series lead that likely wasn’t possible without the longest-tenured Celtic.
The Celtics guard was everywhere, from stealing an Embiid pass and tipping it out to Brown for a game-tying transition layup with 1:34 left and combining with Kemba Walker to grab every important rebound down the stretch.
That’s right — Smart and Walker were the Celtics’ two leading rebounders with eight apiece, but it had to be that way, with Daniel Theis fouled out and everyone scrambling on a bad offensive night.
But Smart’s energy was contagious. He and Walker each came
up with a big fourth quarter steal.
Tatum blocked three shots in the fourth quarter — two in the last 1:24, one of those on Embiid that the Celtics forward converted down the other end by drawing a clear path foul, setting up Walker’s step-back 20-footer on the ensuing possession for a 98-94 lead. Walker especially earned his stripes by drawing an Embiid charge.
One player’s stamp, above all others, was on this win, though.
“I’m glad he’s on my team — tell you that much,” Walker said of Smart. “He’s so special, defensively he’s a monster, willing to take on any challenge, willing to do anything it takes to win a basketball game. He doesn’t care. You just need a guy like that. He’s our glue guy, whenever he’s playing like that he’s just special, man. It’s really unbelievable to watch. That man can really, really guard. Anyone in the world. I just can’t see how he’s not in defensive player of the year consideration. I just can’t, can’t see it. He’s unbelievable.”
But as in just about any ugly game, Smart could see an acre of need for improvement. All of the above defensive plays were made necessary by less than exemplary work earlier in the night.
“Unfortunately for us we kind of let our foot off the pedal tonight,” said Smart. “We could have made more plays on the defensive end. And we have guys who can make those defensive plays. Tonight wasn’t our best night on the defensive end but we found a way to come up with a victory. When you got guys like we do who can go out there and actually guard positions, it makes it tough on any given night for opponents. We didn’t play our best defensive game but we did enough to win the game. We gotta continue to play in the type of way we know how to play on the defensive end.”
Walker is getting his wish, every day
After not reaching the playoffs his last three years in Charlotte, and never getting out of the first round, the Celtics point guard is about to venture deeper in the postseason than ever.
“This is why I came. It’s a very special moment for myself,” he said. “This is really cool, but the job’s not done. We have to come out in Game 4 and give it everything we’ve got, because those guys over there are not quitting until it’s over.
“Just the intensity, man. It’s just high-level basketball, you know?” Walker said about what he’s missed the most about the postseason. “The preparation game by game, the adjustments, that’s what I missed. That’s what I missed. It’s just fun. I’ve always felt like I’m a winner and I want to play at the highest level and I’m able to do that now and it’s really exciting.” Tatum had a hiccup Early foul trouble will do that to you. He picked up three fouls in eight first half minutes, and didn’t take the court again until the third quarter. He started slow, eventually finished with 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting, and made his biggest plays on the other end.
But the Celtics can overcome a lot with their balance, Friday night with 21 points from Brown (6-for16 shooting) and 24 from Walker.
“Guys are going to have games where shots didn’t fall. Jayson and Jaylen really led us with this restart and then even the first two games of the playoffs,” said Smart. “So we were prepared for guys not to be on that little streak that they were on, but we were also prepared to get those guys ready to do other things like play defense, make plays for other guys, and just stay the course to win the game.
“And then you got a guy like Kemba who’s been doing this for years, coming in when we need him at the most to step up when those other guys are down and to take on and hone that offensive lull that he did tonight. That’s the uniqueness about this team is we’ve got guys that can go off on any given night, so if one guy is off, another guy can step up.”
Ball movement needs a jump start
Philadelphia turned in its best defensive effort of the series, as evidenced by the Celtics shooting 41.4% overall and 25.8% from downtown. The young stars, Tatum and Brown, shot a combined 12-for-35.