POST GAME PHILLY - AWAY - BOS 115, PHI 118 Final

Celtics Wrap: Boston Blows 15-Point Lead, Falls To 76ers 118-115

NESN by Logan Mullen on Wed, Mar 20, 2019 at 9:44PM

Boston very much needed a win Wednesday night, but a blown 15-point lead proved fatal.

The C’s fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 118-115 at Wells Fargo Center. The loss all but guarantees the Celtics won’t be able to catch Philly for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jimmy Butler put the game away with four seconds left, hitting a jumper from the baseline to up the 76ers’ advantage to five.

Kyrie Irving recorded 36 points, adding nine rebounds. Al Horford (22 points), Terry Rozier (20) and Jayson Tatum (13) also tallied double figures.

Joel Embiid led all players with 37 points (20 of which were on free throws, of which he had 21), and was one of five Sixers in double figures.

With the loss, the Celtics fall to 43-29, while the 76ers climb to 47-25 with the win.

Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
C: Al Horford

C’S CONTROL FIRST
The Celtics never trailed in the first quarter, finishing the first 12 minutes with a 39-30 lead.

A quick 11-3 run kicked off the game nicely for the Celtics, but the Sixers chipped away, ultimately using a 6-0 run around the midway point to pull the game to a 19-19 tie.

Over the final 2:33, however, Boston outscored the hosts 13-6 to give themselves a bit of a cushion.

Irving led all players with 16 points in the first.

ARM’S REACH
The Celtics’ lead somewhat was threatened at times in the second quarter, but they went into the break ahead 69-58 after outscoring Philly 30-28 in the frame.

Though the 76ers cut into the C’s advantage by scoring the stanza’s first four points, the Celtics started piling on to extend their lead to as many as 15. That piling on included an 8-0 run over 2:52 in the early stages.

But the 76ers certainly didn’t lie down. With just over four minutes to go, they scored six unanswered over 1:01 to trim their deficit down to nine. The two sides proceeded to trade chances over the final few minutes of the quarter.

Irving led all players with 20 points in the opening half. Aron Baynes left the game with a sprained ankle suffered by landing awkwardly on Marcus Smart’s foot. He did not return.

FIGHT NIGHT
There were plenty of fireworks in the third period, and though the 76ers outscored the C’s 27-21 in the frame, it was Boston that took a 90-85 lead into the fourth.

It didn’t take long for things to heat up between the two sides, with Smart and Embiid sparring shortly into the second half. Smart fell after running into a pick set by Embiid in which the big man appeared to stick his elbow out. Smart responded by running after Embiid and shoving him to the floor from behind.

That led to some scuffling between the two teams, and when all was said and done, Smart was ejected.

In response to the skirmish, the Sixers played with heaps of energy, eventually tying the game at 82 with 5:03 left. It was the first time the game was deadlocked since the opening quarter. A Mike Scott free throw with 3:48 to go gave Philly its first lead of the night.

The Celtics finished the final 2:16 on a 6-0 run to regain their lead and create a bit of room.

SIXERS CLAIM BARN-BURNER
To the surprise of few, it was a thrilling finish.

With the game tied at 111 and 1:54 to play, Tobias Harris dunked to put the hosts up a pair, and Irving missed a contested 3-point attempt in response. Jimmy Butler missed to triple attempts the next trip down the floor, which allowed Tatum to get an equalizing layup in Boston’s next possession to tie the game back up with 1:07 to play.

The Sixers went back ahead on a layup by Ben Simmons, who was fouled on the play. Simmons made the free throw to put Philly up 116-113 with 40 seconds in regulation.

After a timeout, Irving attempted a layup, which was blocked. Marcus Morris corralled the board, but was unable to finish the second chance. The 76ers capitalized on the opportunity, with Butler hitting a jumper to put the hosts ahead 118-113 with 4.7 seconds to play.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Goodness.

UP NEXT
The Celtics will continue their road trip Saturday evening against the Hornets. Tip from Spectrum Center is set for 6 p.m. ET.

112288

The heart was there, but the players were not........Baynes, Hayward, Smart.......should have won!

I place this loss squarely on Danny Ainge .................Hey Danny you could not of picked up a serviceable BIG for the remainder of the season!!!!!! What an F'en joke!

You knew Baynes had foot problems and Horford Knee problems and you do not pick up an insurance BIG in case one of yours go down....How stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Danny I would suggest you fill the 15th man roster with a psychiatrist, both players and you need some help!

112288

112288 wrote:The heart was there, but the players were not........Baynes, Hayward, Smart.......should have won!

I place this loss squarely on Danny Ainge .................Hey Danny you could not of picked up a serviceable BIG for the remainder of the season!!!!!!  What an F'en joke!

You knew Baynes had foot problems and Horford Knee problems and you do not pick up an insurance BIG in case one of yours go down....How stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Danny I would suggest you fill the 15th man roster with a psychiatrist, both players and you need some help!

112288

WTH is he sitting on an empty roster spot for? Makes zero sense.

Brad praising the shit out of the 76ers in post game. Disappointing

The Celts played hard.  Losing Baynes and then Smart was a killer.

My concerns for this team remain the same.  Our front line is not strong.

Our front line remains weak on the glass with or without Baynes.  Weak!

The Celts need to keep playing hard and HOPE that Baynes can get back asap.

I love Smart but he is a knucklehead!

Tro on it tonight.

KI had 9 rebounds and 30 something points.  

Jt limited offensive options.

MM whatever..he will be gone soon.

JT still missing key shots.

Semi played well, Theis non factor.

Who is up next?

What bothers me about Tatem, he shows some flash early and then disappears for 2.5 quarters or more. He misses easy shots within 12 feet of the rim and cannot hit the ocean with his 3 point shot. Very .............. very inconsistent .......... I am getting the feeling the Black Momba Koby screwed the kid up. He is not like last year....at times he seems lost.

Hey Tatem..........spend some time and let Pierce show you how to play if you want to become great!

Doubt's are starting to set in!

Hey Brown, will you learn how to shoot free throws............christ.............Shaq can shoot better then you from the line.

112288

All you need to know right here.

27 FT discrepancy for the team with more shots and points in the paint? Not possible.





AND the push from Smart was caused by TWO BAD CALLS in a row.

A) Smart got all ball on the steal attempt.(Actually call a Foul ON Smart
B) Next play, Embiid sets an illegal screen (NO CALL)

An absolute disgrace.

This team does not look like a team able to make a deep playoff run.

I have seen enough to figure that out but everything has to play out.

It is not about this loss, it is just an ongoing inability to WIN consistently. Injuries not notwithstanding, Our depth is still lacking at 4 and 5.

If Boston ends up with poop in their pants major changes will occur.

....and he got elbowed, is it me or do refs have it out for us this year? See so many games we get hammered driving, Tatum, Kyrie, Jaylen, GH get no calls and anytime we get near them, they call all these ticky tack fouls on us. Very fucked up

You cannot get thrown out of games because of bad calls. Your team is hurt when you do that. Thus the knucklehead reference.

This is the stretch run. The team needs to keep pushing forward.

Still despite FT discrepancy we still could have won this game, but Morris kept getting attacked defensively and Kyrie bricked bunnies and took bad shots last 5 minutes of game that doomed us.

MRKleen,

Just have to differ about the free throw disparity.  Celtics made some real bonehead fouls all night..........just a few examples, Smart at the end of the first half with 00 on the clock and Tatem on Butler where he was behind him and no chance to block his jumper and he goes up and bodies him.

Also, and let us be fair, the only way we were to stop Embiit tonight without Baynes helping Horford out was to hit him with a lead pipe!  And that is what they had to do was to try and beat him up physically and hope he was off on his foul shooting.  I mean they threw Thies in and he looked like a rag doll against Embiit........he's huge and we have no answer for him physically outside of Baynes.

Again we are a small, small team, and Danny gave us no BIG MAN options going into the playoffs...........a joke!

112288

cowens/oldschool wrote:Still despite FT discrepancy we still could have won this game, but Morris kept getting attacked defensively and Kyrie bricked bunnies and took bad shots last 5 minutes of game that doomed us.

Agree Cowen................Irving took some boneheaded 3 point shots where an easy 2 could have kept the pressure on them.

112288

Ktronic1 wrote:Brad praising the shit out of the 76ers in post game. Disappointing

Not sure if Brad really meant it or was rubbing it in the noses of this players.

If he meant it.......he's an idiot!

112288

112288 wrote:MRKleen,

Just have to differ about the free throw disparity.  Celtics made some real bonehead fouls all night..........just a few examples, Smart at the end of the first half with 00 on the clock and Tatem on Butler where he was behind him and no chance to block his jumper and he goes up and bodies him.

Also, and let us be fair, the only way we were to stop Embiit tonight without Baynes helping Horford out was to hit him with a lead pipe!  And that is what they had to do was to try and beat him up physically and hope he was off on his foul shooting.  I mean they threw Thies in and he looked like a rag doll against Embiit........he's huge and we have no answer for him physically outside of Baynes.

Again we are a small, small team, and Danny gave us no BIG MAN options going into the playoffs...........a joke!

112288

Bone head or not - the math doesnt work.  The team who has more shots in the paint, simply cannot shoot nearly 30 less free throws.  100% defies logic.  Even if the discrepancy is 20, the Celtics win.  

As for the rest, yes - with No Baynes - No Hayward - No Smart, this is a tough ask.  But the Celtics played it to the wire.  Exciting game, cannot ask for more given the shorthanded situation.

One thing is clear to me - the moves made this year by the Sixers have dug their grave  and ensured they will not be serious contenders over the long run.

They will not be able to re-sign Harris and Butler and their bench is too much of a joke to win anything.  They may be better than the Celtics THIS YEAR, but are in no way a championship caliber team and they not built for the long run.

Baynes has a Grade 2 Sprain (torn ligaments) - he will be out 6 to 8 weeks. Not good.

mrkleen09 wrote:All you need to know right here.

27 FT discrepancy for the team with more shots and points in the paint?  Not possible.





AND the push from Smart was caused by TWO BAD CALLS in a row.
 
A) Smart got all ball on the steal attempt.(Actually call a Foul ON Smart  
B) Next play, Embiid sets an illegal screen (NO CALL)

An absolute disgrace.  

I agree.

Three point shots about even, so it wasn't because we were only jacking up threes all night.

Hard to win when it is 8 against 5 for most of the night. We almost did, but losing Smart and Baynes hurt us in the long run.

We were missing Hayward as well, so even strength, we beat them easily.

I am not worried about the 6ers.

I missed the fourth quarter but it's tough to beat a good team without two of your three best defensive players. The Celtics live and die by the three ball and this year they're not getting the looks they got last year cause Kyrie ball doesn't create as many open looks as Brad's motion offense. I wonder what would happen if you put Kyrie on GS instead of Steph; I think he'd grind down their offense and it would stagnate a bit similar to the Celtics. Although his bail out pass with 10 seconds would go to Durant who could make his own shot at that juncture. I view Kyrie as a veteran in the league but still a relatively young man trying to learn to be a leader and not quite getting it done. He's a filthy basketball player but it's not quite translating.

Fuck Baynes is done, terrible....

I'm not sure why anyone thinks Philly can't resign Harris and Butler next season?

I mean they can pay them any amount that needs to be paid to get it done.

Just like the Celtics can sign Irving, Morris and Roizer for whatever...if they chose to pay the extreme tax penalty's that would require.

Philly is a good team and they may be great team depending on how Embiid plays come playoff time.

closest thing to Wilt I've seen in a while.

I disagree with you on one point, free throws DO affect the outcome of games. It can be a momentum changer, a frustration, and defintely cause a loss.

Granted, the Celtics blew that fifteen point lead, but anyone who watched that game could see, right from the start, that Embid was going to end up at the line any and everytime. We say that we want Tatum to stop crying about fouls, but watch Embid, he intimidates ref's time and again. Walking all over the lane, never getting called. I said it last night and I will say it now, he is more talented than Boogie, but he has the same temperment.

We lost, that is the story, but four more trips to the line and WE would have won. You telling me that Kyrie did not get fouled driving to the basket almost every time. Fair is fair, and this game was not fair.

I am worried, too, about this team. It is funny though, I just read a story of n interview with Jaylen Brown. He is quoted as saying "Hayward opens up the whole floor for us, he is aggressive, and when he plays that way we feed off him" So......let's see how it goes Saturday, that is all we can do. But I will not give up

Hi,
The only positive outcome of the game (on NBC Sports):
Rozier, who already has trolled the 76ers for the confetti celebration, did so again after Wednesday's game.

"I thought the confetti was going to drop tonight," Rozier quipped. "I did. It was a big win, not trying to take nothing away from them, but I thought the confetti was dropping tonight."

AK

I think Robert Williams has become an endangered species.

Kj

Yep. Danny left us short handed at the 5. A big problem. What the hell was he thinking?

kdp59 wrote:I'm not sure why anyone thinks Philly can't resign Harris and Butler next season?

I mean they can pay them any amount that needs to be paid to get it done.

Just like the Celtics can sign Irving, Morris and Roizer for whatever...if they chose to pay the extreme tax penalty's that would require.

Philly is a good team and they may be great team depending on how Embiid plays come playoff time.

closest thing to Wilt I've seen in a while.

Of course they can sign Harris and Butler - the only question is - will they - and if they don't - they will have the big bucks needed to sign a couple other top grade free agents. This Philly team figures to be in the hunt for a ring both short and long term.

swish