Early-morning is busy time at Churchill Downs
BOSTON — The youth movement is alive and thriving for the Boston Celtics.
And for the second straight game it was enough to upend a Philadelphia 76ers team that still has much to figure out as it heads home trailing 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Rookie Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, helping the Celtics rally from a 22-point deficit to beat the 76ers 108103 on Thursday night.
Terry Rozier added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Marcus Smart finished with 19 points and five rebounds as the Celtics improved to 6-0 at TD Garden this postseason. They have never blown a 2-0 lead.
“Coach was saying whoever is the tougher team is going to win,” Rozier said. “They definitely punched us in the mouth at the beginning of the game. We just had to bounce back and get things together.”
Game 3 is Saturday in Philadelphia.
J.J. Redick had 23 points for the 76ers, making five 3-pointers. Robert Covington added 22 points and nine rebounds. Joel Embiid finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, but rookie star Ben Simmons missed all four shots and had just one point.
“Mentally, just thinking too much,” Simmons said of his tough night. “I’m going to have bad games. It happens. Obviously, it’s bad timing.”
Philadelphia recovered after squandering its big lead to nudge back in front 93-88 midway through the fourth quarter.
But an 11-4 run put Boston back in the lead 99-95 with less than four minutes to play.
It was 101-97 when a missed Philadelphia jumper led to a 2-on-1 fast break and alley-oop dunk from Rozier to Tatum with 2:23 left.
A layup by Dario Saric cut it to 104-101. But Al Horford was able to drive past Embiid for a layup with 8.3 seconds left.
Saric scored out of a timeout to make it 106-103. The Sixers quickly fouled Tatum, who calmly hit a pair of free throws.
Following an anemic offensive effort in Game 1, the Sixers looked rejuvenated early in Game 2, using a 14-2 run to begin the second quarter on their way to building a 48-26 lead. It didn’t last. The Celtics responded by ending the half on a 25-8 run. It included three straight 3-pointers and a tip-dunk by Jaylen Brown, who returned to action after sitting out the series opener with a strained right hamstring. He came off the bench and played 25 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds.
The Sixers’ lead was completely erased midway through the third quarter, when Aron Baynes got a 3-pointer to bounce in and put Boston in front for the first time.
The lead grew to 76-68 on a baseline dunk by Tatum that capped a 50-20 Celtics run.
“Once we got on that run we never looked back,” Rozier said.
Brown entered the game for the first time at the 7:14 mark of first quarter. It took less than a minute to make an impact. He missed his first shot attempt before chasing down a loose ball and sprinting ahead for a one-handed dunk .
Prior to Thursday, Brown had started every game he’d appeared in this season. It was his first time off the bench since Game 5 of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.
“They won two games at home and we have reciprocate,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “There’s not going to be a pity party.”
TIP-INS
76ers: Outrebounded the Celtics 49-41 . ... Went 13 of 33 from the 3-point line.
Celtics: The 22-point comeback victory represents their largest comefrom-behind playoff victory since Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals (24 pts) . ... Went 15 of 36 from the 3-point line.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Under the famed Twin Spires, 20 horses set to run in the Kentucky Derby work out in the early morning hours at Churchill Downs. Some step on the dirt track before dawn, with the moon still visible. As sunrise approaches, pinks and oranges streak the sky. More horses emerge from their stalls on the track’s backstretch. Exercise riders get a leg up on their 1,000-pound mounts and take to the oval for a timed workout.
The 3-year-old colts prepare for their one and only chance at running in the Derby by jogging and galloping on the track. Others practice standing in the starting gate or walking to the paddock to get used to the conditions on race day, when over 100,000 people jam the venerable track and create a noise level most horses aren’t used to.
The 144th edition of America’s greatest race will be run at 1 ¼ miles on Saturday.
This year’s morning-line favorite is Justify at 3-1 odds. The Southern California-based horse is trained by four-time Derby winner Bob Baffert.
The second choice is 5-1 Mendelssohn, an Irelandbased horse that will try to become the first from Europe to win the Kentucky Derby.
Magnum Moon is the 6-1 third choice. Audible and Bolt d’Oro, named in part for retired Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt, are the co-fourth choices at 8-1.
After their workouts, the horses walk back to their barns where they stand outside for a bath. Grooms spray them with hoses, scrub them with sponges soaked in soapy water from a bucket, and wash them off. Their manes are combed, their bodies dried and a blanket is tossed on their back before they are led into their stalls.
A meal often awaits or the horses snack on hay. They usually sleep standing up and will eat again in the evening before the stable area grows quiet for the night.
Before dawn, the ritual begins again.