BSJ Game Report: Celtics 110, Sixers 107 - Tatum's last-second 3-pointer lifts C's past Philly

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Philadelphia 76ers, with BSJ insight and analysis. 

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics didn’t play their best opening quarter, but they survived a hot shooting first from Philly and a 9-point deficit to go into the second down only 2. Boston used a 13-0 run to ultimately build a lead of their own, but they went cold in the middle of the quarter to give the lead back. The Sixers closed the quarter on a 24-11 run, fueled largely by free throws. The Celtics stumbled out of the half (again), but Al Horford hit four 3-pointers to help turn a 15-point deficit into a 2-point lead after 3. The lead ballooned to 10 but Philly was able to climb back into it behind Joel Embiid late. Jayson Tatum broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left, and Embiid's hit a three-quarter court miracle that was a half-second late.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Depth on display: The Celtics won the bench points by 15 and, really, the best player on the floor for a long time was Derrick White. He was a +25 on the night and Malcolm Brogdon was +18 in a game Boston won by 3. On a night when a couple of the starters didn't have it, the bench stepped up and did what it was supposed to do to pick them up. 

Shaking off a bad performance: Tatum had an abysmal first half into an okay third quarter and a good fourth. Not only did he hit the game-winner, he had a huge putback with a minute left to make it a 4-point game. Give the guy credit for sticking with things on a bad night.

Third-quarter struggles: The Celtics had another slow start to start the third quarter. And while that made the win even more impressive, it also made it a bit more difficult than it had to be. Boston needs to get back to coming out of the half with focus and energy rather than whatever this has been recently. 

Tiebreaker secured: As I wrote before the game, the tiebreaker essentially gives Boston a five-game lead on Philly, making it really tough for the Sixers to sniff the top seed at this point. Even if Boston goes 14-7 the rest of the way, Philly would have to go 20-3. So the race for the top spot is now essentially down to just Boston and Milwaukee, who are separated by one game. 

TURNING POINT

With Boston down 13, 75-62, with about 4:00 to go in the third quarter, Horford hit the first of three straight 3-pointers to cut the Philly lead to four. It triggered an 18-3 run to close the quarter, which Boston extended to 33-10. Although they later lost that lead, this is where the Celtics truly turned the game around after looking dead through eight minutes of the third quarter.

SECOND GUESS

With Boston up 107-105 and possession, they ended up taking a shot clock violation. I would have taken one of Boston’s two remaining timeouts as the play clearly fizzled with about :09 left on the shot clock to set up a play. I’d rather have Boston up 4 or 5 in that spot.

Joe Mazzulla did use both timeouts after that, but the second one was just because they had the extra and they wanted to be doubly-sure about personnel. That play was already drawn up before the second timeout and nothing really changed about it after it. 

It all worked out, but I still believe Mazzulla needs to call timeouts in those late-clock, late-game situations to organize guys. Sometimes plays got away from the guys on the floor. It worked out in the end, but it didn't have to be that dramatic. 

SEVEN UP

Jaylen Brown: Boston’s most consistently good player along with White on the night. He had a couple of moments where he got a little out of control, but he was the key early on when the Sixers took a big lead and he had some great plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor. 

Al Horford: Rough start to the game but that 12-point stretch in the late third, along with a massive 3-pointer with 1:36 left to give Boston a 105-103 lead, were huge for the Celtics. He was jeered by Sixers fans who still hate him for how things went there, so hitting those shots at the end surely felt good. 

Derrick White: I could do a second “second guess” and say White should have been in the game down the stretch. 18 points on 7-9 shooting and 2-3 from deep plus some incredible defense over 25 minutes was great but I wanted more. This was not Marcus Smart’s night, and rolling with White down the stretch would have been understandable. 

Malcolm Brogdon: The box score doesn’t jump out at you, but I thought he was great. He really helped tear the Sixers' bench apart. 

Grant Williams: The man had to guard Joel Embiid and James Harden and he did so pretty well for most of this game. He had a tough shooting night (1-6) but he did other things. This is what I was looking for from him. 

Robert Williams: He finished with 14 points on 7-7 shooting, and is now the all-time Celtics leader in games with 100% shooting from the field. That included a first quarter buzzer-beater from 15 feet. 

Jayson Tatum: He didn’t have a good game. In fact, he was horrible in the first half. I’m giving him the “up” because he did other things (13 rebounds, 6 assists) and he didn’t let his bad game affect his fourth quarter. And when he needed to make the big shot, he hit it. 

ONE DOWN 

Marcus Smart: He made a great pass to Tatum at the end, but he managed to be a -22 in a 3-point win. He has struggled so far after the break. The Sixers wanted him to shoot and he did, but he only went 4-11 on the night with 3 assists. Awful night. 

TOP PLAYS

Attack mode 🚨 pic.twitter.com/u1OwAdFiEg

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 26, 2023

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Can we retire the notion that Tatum isn’t clutch? 

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Tatum has 9 game-tying or go-ahead baskets inside the final 5 seconds of the 4th quarter and OT over the past five seasons, most in the NBA. 

And then there's this: 

I’d say 51.7% shooting on shots to tie or take the lead in the final :24 is pretty clutch. 

I know people will probably point to the Finals as a rebuttal for this, but I think that was more tired legs after the culmination of a deep run with no real help. 

I’m not saying Tatum is Damian Lillard or anything at the end of games, but it’s clear that he’s doing something right in clutch situations. 

- Embiid really gets a lot of leeway

He took 6 more free throws than the whole Celtics team (18-12). In fact, the Sixers outscored Boston by 20 at the free-throw line. 

I don’t understand how he can clear space and run over guys and then complain about fouls when half his points always come from the line. 

Embiid is a real MVP candidate but sometimes he’s hard to watch with all the foul hunting he does. 

Next Up: The Celtics wrap up their road trip Monday night at 7:30 against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden