The Boston Celtics had a chance to earn some rest. Instead, they fumbled. The Philadelphia 76ers blitzed them in the second half, and Boston's sluggish offense failed to match that punch.
Here are some studs and duds.
Down: Offensive consistency
One possession, the Celtics would get a wide-open three or a paint shot. The next, they would turn the ball over and give up three points on the other end.
Boston's offense was pretty brutal all night. The shots weren't falling, the ball wasn't moving consistently, and they committed more live-ball turnovers than usual, especially in big moments of the game (when it came to momentum).
Jaylen Brown's jumpers weren't falling at the usual rate. Nikola Vucevic's threes took a while to fall. Occasionally, the Celtics spent more time on the ground diving for loose balls than actually fighting for an open shot.
Jayson Tatum made some odd decisions. Brown was all over the place for most of the night.
It was definitely an off night for Boston on offense.
Up: Payton Pritchard
Though it wasn't quite the 32-point performance that he enjoyed in Game 4, when Payton Pritchard was on the court for Boston, good things happened. Especially on the offensive end.
Pritchard's defense was solid. He even stopped a Joel Embiid post-up at one point. But offense was where he shone.
He was just a calming presence for the Celtics. His ball-handling opened up opportunities for others. His off-ball speed earned him open shots at the rim. Whenever Boston found itself in a rut, it felt like Pritchard was there.
And on a night when the Celtics' offense struggled, they needed him, even though his 3-ball wasn't falling.
Down: Jaylen Brown
On the defensive end, Brown was tenacious. The energy was there.
But the handle was loose on Tuesday. It was reminiscent of an older version of Brown.
A lot of times, Brown (or one of his teammates) was able to corral his potential turnover, so it didn't count in the box score. But still, it disrupted Boston's offense.
By the second half, Brown's fumbling problem was mostly gone, but his shot selection was rough. He took a ton of contested looks, and a lot of them just didn't fall.
This was not Brown's finest performance.
Down: Game 5 opportunity
This was Boston's chance to get some early rest. Now, they'll have to travel all the way back to Philadelphia and try to finish the job there.
They had plenty of energy in Game 5, but lacked almost all the execution needed to win.
By the fourth quarter, missed layups and free throws were on the menu, as the Celtics had lost all semblance of offensive flow.
The Sixers surged forward, and Boston faded away into the abyss. It was about as ugly an ending as the Celtics could have delivered.
More ups
When he was guarding him, Derrick White did a pretty solid job forcing Tyrese Maxey away from the 3-point line. He forced him into a lot of twos, especially in the first half.
Nikola Vucevic's offensive night was solid, though he left a lot to be desired on the defensive end, especially in the third quarter against Joel Embiid.
More downs
The flip side to Vucevic's offense was his brutal defense against Embiid in the third, as noted. He got backed down over and over again, and Embiid feasted on paint buckets. Vucevic could not stop him.
For the fifth straight game, Neemias Queta battled foul trouble.
Boston struggled to contain Quentin Grimes in this game. He got plenty of quality 3-point looks and even drew some fouls on his jumpers.
Although he dominated Vucevic in the third quarter, he looked rough in the first half. Philadelphia was better when he was off the floor. He was slow, awkward, and couldn't move up and down the court well.