BSJ Game 6 Report: Celtics 95, Sixers 86 - Tatum's late heroics force Game 7

Everything you need to know about the Celtics Game 6 win over the Sixers with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics started Robert Williams and the defense was swarming, giving Boston an early 15-3 lead. They immediately gave up a Sixers run after Williams came out, but Malcolm Brogdon’s 11 helped rebuild a 7-point lead. The lead got up to 16 in the second quarter, but fell back down to 7 by the half despite a big effort from Marcus Smart. Jayson Tatum went into halftime with just 1 point. The Sixers ramped up the pressure in the third and took a lead as Boston got cold from deep. A back-and-forth fourth quarter was split wide open when Jason Tatum erupted for four 3-pointers in the last four minutes to steal a win and force a Game 7.

Box Score

HEADLINES

What a finish! This is definitely not how anybody expected this game to go. There was a stretch in the third quarter where it looked like the Celtics were falling apart. The Sixers had erased an early 16-point deficit and the Celtics looked like something a cat hacked up heading into the final quarter. Then Tatum went on his barrage and all of a sudden he had scored 12 points in less than four minutes and he ended up out-scoring the entire Sixers team 16-13 in the final quarter. 

Mazzulla’s adjustment: The Celtics started Williams and the impact was felt immediately. Boston opened up on a 15-3 run. 

“I was ecstatic about it,” Smart said. “To be able to have Rob in there, he changes the game a lot. Being able to have a lob threat, a rim threat, to be able to protect the rim on the other end. He huge for us. And I was proud to have him on the court.”

Joel Embiid was asked about how much the double big lineup impacted him and he flatly said “it didn’t,” but that's posturing because Williams was clearly able to impact the Sixers all over the floor. 

Sixers meltdown: What an awful finish to the game for them. 13 fourth-quarter points? They didn’t score in the final 2:53 outside of a garbage time bucket when the game was over. Outside of that garbage time make, the Sixers didn’t make a field goal in the final 6:13 … a jumper by Embiid. 

“We had a lot of wide-open shots and we didn't make them,” Embiid said. “We stopped moving the ball. I don't think I touched the ball in the last 4 minutes of the game. I didn't touch the ball at all.”

James Harden had zero points, going 0-4, in the fourth quarter. He made just 1 field goal in the second half. 

See you on Mother’s Day: Time is still TBD (8 p.m. if Warriors force Game 7, 3:30 if they don't), but there will be a Game 7. Jaylen Brown threw down the gauntlet: 

“I’m hoping it’s gonna be loud and it’s gonna be rocking,” he said. “Celtics fans, they love to call us out, right? So I’m gonna call you guys out this time. Energy in the Garden has been OK at best all playoffs. Game 7, if you’re there or if you’re not there, if you’re watching at a bar, if you’re watching down the street at a friend’s house, I don’t care. I need you to be up, I need you to come with the energy, because we’re gonna need every bit of it. So I’m calling you guys out. Let’s make sure the Garden is ready to go.”

TURNING POINT

The obvious turning point was Tatum’s 3-pointer with 4:14 left. That unleashed a hellfire that finished the Sixers off. If we want to look for something else, I’d go with the coach’s challenge with 2:11 left when Harden was “fouled” with a chance to go to the line and possibly make it a 3-point game. Instead, Boston finished off the defensive stop, Tatum hit another 3-pointer, and Boston went up 8. Big 5-point swing there. 

THREE UP

Jayson Tatum’s fourth quarter: He did other things in this game. He had 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in the game, but obviously this team needs his scoring to win. 

“I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to my teammates. They were extremely vocal throughout the game encouraging me,” Tatum said. “Every timeout, every huddle, my teammates telling me, ‘The next one’s going in. Keep rebounding, keep getting assists, keep getting blocks. Keep impacting the game. It’s going to come. It’s going to come.’ So that was helpful.”

Marcus Smart: What a great game by Smart. It’s a shame the story after this game will be Tatum’s outburst because Smart’s game was damn-near perfect. 22 points on 8-15 shooting, 3-8 from 3, 7 assists, and 2 steals. He helped hold it down until Tatum showed up. 

“He’s a vet guy, a fringe All-Star in this league,” Brogdon said. “He's been leading this team for years, led them to the Finals last year. So he's ready for these situations. He made big shots tonight. He's the point guard we need.”

Robert Williams: Everyone loved this adjustment. 

“I’m glad that Joe made that adjustment and we did it because what a difference,” Al Horford said. “I was happy that that happened. We just know the impact that Rob has.”

Williams not only changed the energy, he was able to make little differences in the game. For example, when guys like Tyrese Maxey drove the lane with Williams there, the floaters had to float a little higher, throwing them off their normal trajectory and forcing misses. A couple of rebounds that were falling into Embiid’s hands were tipped out by Williams. And on top of that, we got some lobs to Williams that put pressure on the Sixers. 

ONE DOWN

Derrick White: He hit some 3-pointers, which is good, but otherwise he’s been up and down at best. He was a -7 in the game, the only negative in a 9 point win. 

TOP PLAYS

TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Joe Mazzulla is learning along the way (and not going anywhere)

There have been a lot of comments around here about Mazzula’s future if they lost. 

Well, they're still alive, and the switch to Williams in the starting lineup helped a lot. Doc Rivers even said before the game that he expected Williams to start on PJ Tucker and roam, which is exactly what happened. And still, it fell on the Sixers to make the adjustment because Tucker couldn't make the open shots. 

“That just goes to show you Joe’s learning just like all of us,” Smart said. “I know he’s been killed a lot, rightfully so. He needs to make some adjustments and he did that. And that's all you can ask for. Just continue to be the best he can be. And it takes everybody. It’s a full team effort.”

This is the most direct any player has been about Mazzulla. Smart outright admitted that Mazzulla has been slow to make certain changes and that it’s impacting the team. But he sees it as a positive. 

“It's different but it helps us as players because, when you think about it in the grand scheme, we're teaching him as well,” Smart said. “And we're teaching ourselves. we get to learn more about ourselves. 

“It allows Jayson, it allows Jaylen, it allows me to be more vocal on the court, to go figure things out and we do it together. So it's not going to be perfect. Joe's not perfect. He was put in a very tough situation this year, and he's doing the best he can, and that's all we can ask for. We're going to continue to go out there and work our tails off for him just like he's gonna go out there and continue to work his tail off for us.”

That work was being done on the sideline in this game, where Tatum was struggling and Mazzulla was in his ear. What was his message?

“I love you.”

That's it? 

“Yep. That’s it.”

Maybe that's all it takes. 

“Me and Joe, we talk,” Tatum said. “Sometimes we just pull each other to the side and I've done that to him, right? In his first year, he's done an unbelievable job. I know there's a lot of questions and doubts. I told him a lot of times like, 'Yo, I got you. I got your back. We in this together.' I love that relationship that me and Joe have.”

Pretty strong endorsement of the coach from the franchise player. 

Mazzulla is learning on the fly, and it’s not great for the Celtics on some nights, and great for them on others. But they're embracing it, and they're going to live or die with it. 

For now, they're still alive.