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Key Moment
Great teams make runs when they need them most. The Celtics needed one Friday night to close out Game 3, and they made it happen.
Boston locked down and shut out the 76ers during the final two-plus minutes of the contest after falling behind 94-92 with 2:14 left in regulation. Philadelphia did not score a point the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the court, the C’s rattled off 10 straight points to close the game out and complete a 102-94 win.
The whole run started at the defensive end. Unsurprisingly, Marcus Smart was right in the middle of it all.
Smart ignited the run by picking off an attempted kick-out pass to the opposite corner by Joel Embiid and, all in one motion and in mid-air, Smart passed the interception to Jaylen Brown who was streaking in the other direction. Brown took the ball the length of the court and finished an and-one layup from the left side of the hoop to put the C’s back on top by one.
In hindsight, we know that Boston didn’t need another point from that moment on, but it tacked on another seven while stifling Philly’s offense. After Jayson Tatum blocked Embiid’s shot on Philly’s next offensive possession, Tatum then connected on a clear-path free throw. Kemba Walker then drained a step-back jumper over Al Horford on the ensuing possession. Smart closed the game out with four free throws.
As we said, great teams make runs when they need them most. The Celtics did so Friday night, and now they have a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Key Player
Kemba Walker was awesome Friday night.
Awesome in general – not just at the offensive end.
Walker did lead Boston in scoring with 24 points, but he made quite possibly his greatest impact at the defensive end of the court. He tied backcourt teammate Marcus Smart for the team high in rebounds with eight and also tallied two steals and one blocked shot. The 6-foot point guard was everywhere, all night long, and it mattered. Philadelphia felt his defensive presence.
Offensively, Walker connected on half of his 20 shot attempts and three of his eight 3-pointers. He attempted only one free throw, which he made.
This contest stands as Walker’s third career playoff game with at least 20 points on at least 50 percent shooting from the field. Two of those games have taken place during this series.
Box Score Nuggets
- Kemba Walker (24 points) and Jaylen Brown (21 points) led Boston in scoring.
- Boston won by eight despite shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 25.8 percent from long distance.
- Walker and Marcus Smart tied for the team high in rebounds with eight apiece.
- Joel Embiid led the game with 30 points.
- Three Sixers grabbed at least 10 boards, while no Celtics did so. Tobias Harris led the game with 15 rebounds, Embiid grabbed 13, and Al Horford grabbed 10.
- Boston outscored Philadelphia 44-30 in the paint.
- The teams combined to tally only 29 total assists - 15 by Boston and 14 by Philly.
- Both teams blocked seven shots. Jayson Tatum led all players with three blocks.
- Philly grabbed 20 offensive rebounds but scored only 20 second-chance points.
- Philly's bench scored only nine total points.
- Brown shot 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, bringing his total to 20-for-21 from the charity stripe during the Playoffs.
- Boston limited the Sixers to a 29.5 percent shooting from the field and 23.1 percent from 3-point range.
Quote of the Night
Kemba Walker on Marcus Smart