7/10/2023 0 Comments Celtics score![]() ![]() “We were scoring, we were playing ahead by maybe two or three points but weren’t able to get stops. “The last three or four minutes, we couldn’t get stops,” Brogdon said. The Celtics couldn’t gain any separation, and then they crumbled. The C’s led by four with under two minutes to play when Maxey completed a three-point play. The Sixers went punch for punch with the Celtics down the stretch. It included a ridiculous step-back 3 in the corner, and then another triple moments later. The Celtics went up five early in the fourth on a long Brown 3-pointer, but Harden engineered an 8-0 run in response. Harden went into MVP mode, and his undermanned supporting cast didn’t let the Sixers go away. Turnovers were mounting, they weren’t shooting enough 3-pointers – they only finished with 26 attempts from deep, far below their season average – as the 76ers forced them to become stagnant. But somehow, after leading by 12, they only led by three at the break. The Celtics started out strong, shooting an absurd 73.7 percent at halftime. “I thought he was going to shoot it and he was trying to pass it, so just a tough play at the end,” Tatum said. Tatum had to commit a foul, and Paul Reed made both free throws to seal Philly’s victory. But there seemed to be a miscommunication as they lost the ball for Smart’s sixth turnover. Smart caught the inbounds pass and made a drive to the basket, and tried to find Tatum underneath. The Celtics called timeout but their next play went terribly wrong. But I felt like I was right there, contested.” ![]() “I figured he would have tried to spend a little more time before going. “Try to guard him as best as I could and he probably surprised me how quick he shot the ball,” Horford said. After getting a switch from Smart to Horford, Harden stepped back and drained a 3-pointer to put the Sixers up two. But then Harden made the shot of the night. The Celtics answered on the next play as Tatum was fouled and then made two go-ahead free throws. “We all thought it was a shot clock violation,” Tatum said. There was confusion on the floor, as the Celtics just stood there after the turnover, thinking the play was dead. As the shot clock expired, Brogdon inexplicably threw a pass right to Maxey, who dribbled in for an easy breakaway, go-ahead layup. The C’s led 113-112 when the 76ers forced them into what appeared to be a shot-clock violation with 32 seconds left. The game once again came down to poor late-game execution, as the Celtics gave away too many ill-timed turnovers, including two fateful ones in the final minute. “The game speaks for itself, and defensively we were not at the level we were supposed to be as a team, and we all have to look in the mirror with that and make sure that we have to be better for Game 2 on Wednesday.” But that sense of urgency was not there consistently like it needed to be. We did defend better in the third, I’d say that. “I know we shot well on offense, but that first half and even in the second half. “I don’t think there was a sense of urgency on the defensive end,” Horford said.
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