A revived Boston Celtics squad won a physical Game 3 on the road, 108-100, against the Philadelphia 76ers to extend their best-of-seven series lead to 2-1 on Friday.
After a sputtering offensive showing in Game 2, the Celtics regained their shooting form to put the Sixers in catch-up mode for most of the contest. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown carried Boston’s offense with 25 points each, both playing their best in the final quarter.
Each side came out with strong defense early, with Brown and Sixers rookie star VJ Edgecomb making huge first-quarter blocks to set the tone. Edgecomb and Kelly Oubre Jr. gave the Sixers just enough juice in the opening quarter to keep the game close, but it wasn’t enough to catch Boston, who held the lead from 16:15 in the opening quarter until the final shot of the half put Philly ahead by a single point.
That respite came courtesy of the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey, who came alive after a quiet first half to end with a game-high 31 points. Paul George posted 18 points after his own tepid start, but just as those two got rolling, Edgecomb and Oubre began to fade from the scoring picture. Though Boston’s lead never passed 10 points, Philadelphia’s resistance was too late to steal a win.
Here are some takeaways ahead of Game 4, which tips off in Philly again on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
Celtics come through in clutch
After giving up 59 combined points to Maxey and Edgecombe in Game 2, the Celtics aimed to clean up some of their defensive mistakes in Game 3. They did a much better job containing the Philadelphia backcourt early, but let Maxey get going during the second half.
After taking a 10-point lead early in the third quarter, the Celtics allowed a Maxey flurry to put the 76ers right back into the game. While wiping away Boston’s entire lead and putting Philadelphia ahead, Maxey drained two 3-pointers and a long 2-pointer. The Celtics controlled the rest of the third quarter to take a five-point lead into the fourth, but Maxey again took over early in the final period. His 3-pointer about three minutes into the fourth gave the 76ers an 85-84 advantage.
The Celtics were able to make enough clutch plays to withstand the charge, but they will need to find more ways to limit Maxey later in the series. Though he didn’t have the most efficient outing with 31 points on 12-for-31 shooting, he was able to find more freedom after halftime while scoring 22 points after the break. Jordan Walsh, who came off the bench to guard Maxey, did have some good reps against him. Late in the third quarter, Walsh made a great recovery to block Maxey from behind when it looked like he would have an easy attempt inside the paint.
Boston had far more success against Edgecombe. After allowing the rookie guard to get comfortable in the previous game, the Celtics took away his rhythm early, forcing him to miss four of his five shots in the first quarter. He finished with 10 points on 5-for-17 shooting and seemed to grow hesitant with his outside shot as the game wore on. Edgecombe missed each of his seven 3-point attempts. — Jay King, Celtics beat writer
Sixers fall short on the margins
The Philadelphia 76ers certainly did enough to win.
They weathered the Boston Celtics, shooting the proverbial cover off the basketball. They battled upstream for seemingly the entire game. They gave themselves multiple shots at stealing Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.
But, they didn’t win. And, they didn’t win because they didn’t do the little things. On Friday, that was mainly rebounding the basketball and preventing second-chance points. If there’s a place the Celtics separated from Philadelphia Friday night, it was there. It happened all game, right down to Derrick White stealing the last fateful offensive rebound, kicking to Jayson Tatum for 3 and the Celtics coming away with the victory that gives them home-court advantage.
Dunks and 3-pointers are fine. Fancy passing and the blocked shots are fine. But to win at the highest level, you have to do the things on the margins that lead to wins. The Boston Celtics did that, and the Philadelphia 76ers did not. By the end, the 76ers’ inability to come up with a rebound proved as loud as every Boston 3-pointer. Philly hasn’t rebounded well all season. Now, in the playoffs, it is proving to be their undoing. — Tony Jones, Sixers beat writer
