Instant analysis: Celtics submit one of their worst performances of the season on a night they could hardly afford it
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After the Celtics lost Game 4 in Philadelphia on Sunday, forward Al Horford stood in the locker room and spoke confidently. He said he saw things in the fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short that he had been waiting for all season. He believed Game 5 would be a continuation of that.
Instead, the Celtics took the court and had one of their worst performances of this season on a night they could hardly afford it. The 76ers blasted the Celtics from all angles, roaring to a 115-103 win that gave them a 3-2 lead in this conference semifinal series. They will have a chance to win the series in Philadelphia on Thursday night.
The Celtics can take some comfort in the fact that they were in this same predicament in this same round last year, and they won Game 6 in Milwaukee before closing out the series at home in Game 7. But they’d rather not be in this spot at all.
Jayson Tatum had 36 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Celtics, but his 0-for-6 start helped the 76ers grab the early lead that they never relinquished. Boston was just 25 for 34 from the foul line. Joel Embiid had 33 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 for the 76ers, who shot 50.6 percent from the field.
Observations from the game:
· Prior to Game 3, Horford referenced his mild struggles from beyond the 3-point line and said that elite shooters like him figure it out. He was second in the NBA in 3-point shooting during the regular season, but he appeared to be joking a bit with his comment. Then he took some offense when a television reporter laughed at the comment, and then he took the court and drilled 5 of 7 3-pointers in Boston’s win.
Other than that, though, things have not come easily for him from beyond the arc in these playoffs. He was 0 for 6 in the first half on Tuesday, plenty of them wide open, eliciting some groans and even boos from the crowd. He needs to take the open ones, especially in the corners, but a deep, contested above-the-break attempt in the middle of his second-quarter funk was probably unwarranted.
· Tatum shook off a poor-shooting first half in Game 4 and had a strong second half by getting to the rim. But the start of Game 5 looked a lot like the first half of Game 4, with Tatum settling for and missing one jumper after another. He was 0 for 6 before he finally got a second-quarter runner to fall. But when the Celtics got into the free throw penalty early in the second he did a good job of putting pressure on the 76ers defense, taking seven free throws in the quarter to help him find a rhythm.
· Tatum played the entire first quarter and stayed in to start the second, a rarity. But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla appeared to be attempting to capitalize on Embiid’s bench minutes. It didn’t work, though, as the 76ers’ bench crew and James Harden went on a quick 7-0 run to create some separation.
· Grant Williams has had some good moments defending Embiid, but his second-quarter stint was not his finest work. During one brief stretch he collided with the 76ers star center and then swiped at him, resulting in four quick free throws as the Celtics were beginning to craft a comeback. Embiid had 21 first-half points.
· The Celtics attempted 18 second-quarter free throws but were outscored by 2 points in the period. That’s pretty rough.
· The Celtics trailed by just 9 at halftime, putting them well within striking distance. But their defensive intensity simply wasn’t where it needed to be. Embiid spent much of the quarter spotting up for open mid-range attempts that are close to layups for him. During one stretch late in the third, the 76ers scored on five consecutive trips upcourt. That’s just not the recipe for a comeback. Philadelphia led by as many as 19 points in the third.
· In the third quarter Mazzulla turned to Payton Pritchard, who wasn’t a part of the playoff rotation, for a jolt. He played five minutes and didn’t attempt a shot.
· Give the 76ers credit for answering when needed. The Celtics started putting together their expected run, as a Tatum 3-point play sliced what was a 19-point deficit to 92-81 with 10 minutes left. But Philadelphia responded with 3-pointers by Maxey and Embiid. Just like that, an arena that had started to rumble was filled with boos again.