The Sixers went through all the states in this Game 4 that they absolutely had to win to avoid playing their life in Boston in Game 5.
After having led for a long time, Philly was indeed surprised by Boston at the end of the match and had to tear up to win in overtime, carried by the determination of a Harden-Embiid duo, who never gave up. .
It was first as a man on a mission that undermined the good start of the Maxey-Harden-Embiid trio. Author of 12 of the first 14 points of his team, Jaylen Brown did what was necessary to put the Celtics on the right track (11-14). The leading trio of the Sixers was able to round their backs to get off to a better start, Joel Embiid then chaining a 2 + 1 and a baseline basket to give the locals an 8-point lead (27-19).
James Harden restarted the machine from the start of the second quarter with aggressive scoring on three baskets in a row in order to stand out better for a new 3-pointer from Georges Niang then (39-30), then two new shots which hit the mark, forcing Joe Mazzulla to stop the game (44-33).
The Maxey-Harden-Embiid trio maintained the pressure until the break, counting up to 16 points ahead (56-40). But Boston hung on, thanks in particular to 10 points from Malcolm Brogdon and a 3-pointer from the corner of Al Horford at the last second (59-50).
The Celtics on the verge of the hold-up
Despite a brief return to -6 under the impetus of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (62-56), the Celtics again took on water, between the impact found by Joel Embiid and the repeated missiles of James Harden accompanied by PJ Tucker and Tyrese Maxey behind the arc (81-65).
Back to the wall, Boston was able to stay alive, the Brogdon-White-Williams III trio hanging on behind Jayson Tatum’s 7 points to bring the Celtics to -7 shortly before the end of the third act (90-83). This time, the C’s made their comeback 8-0 powered by the Smart-Brown 3-point pair and Jayson Tatum on the counterattack to equalize at 96-96 and launch a crazy money-time.
On its way, Boston was up to 5 points ahead following a dunk from Al Horford and two 3-point baskets from the Smart-Brogdon tandem (100-105). After a 2+1 from PJ Tucker, James Harden then snatched overtime with a floater “clutch” to equalize at 107-107, Marcus Smart missing the winning basket at the buzzer at 3-points.
The tension reached its climax when Jayson Tatum then Marcus Smart, on a 2+1, brought the score to 112-109 in favor of the Celtics. But it was Joel Embiid and James Harden who had the last word, with a basket and two throws for the first and a 3-pointer for the second to respond to Jayson Tatum, on a service from his pivot. Marcus Smart’s last shot was fired too late, so Philadelphia is more alive than ever at 2-2 in the series (116-115)
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Two arbitration decisions that could have been talked about. The Sixers could have regretted two refereeing decisions that played against them in two critical situations in overtime. First there was the offensive foul by Joel Embiid who was denied a 2+1 at 111-112, the referees having deemed that Marcus Smart had had the right positioning to cause his opponent to foul. Then shortly after, it was Jayson Tatum who was not sanctioned after having dismissed Tyrese Maxey with his arm to better hit the mark at 3-pointers. Two actions that will remain as facts of the game, the Sixers having managed to win at the very end of the match.
– A black hole that changed everything. In a match that Philadelphia nevertheless copiously dominated in sequences, we will first remember the strength of character of these Celtics who had the merit of never letting go. While they had managed to maintain an 8-point gap, the Sixers then crossed a five-minute black hole at the worst time, conceding a 14-2 which called everything into question (98-102) and forced Philly to go through extra time to win, not without getting a very big scare.
– Block Party. If the Celtics were able to shine with their attack in the last act to reverse the trend, they were able to achieve this in particular by relying on large defensive sequences. These were marked by five blocks, including three for Al Horford and two for Jayson Tatum. Al Horford thus offered himself the MVP of the season three times, making his life particularly complicated in the fourth quarter.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ James Harden. After coming through in the previous two games, the Sixers fullback again had a hot hand, punctuating his 42-point performance with six 3-pointers and clutch shots to keep his team alive at the end. then force the extension, until this monumental 3-pointer for the win.
✅ Joel Embiid. The pivot gradually regains his mobility over the matches and was even a little more incisive this evening. It also shows in the stats with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, his biggest playoff game for his team’s most important meeting so far. Challenged by Al Horford, who countered him several times, he did his part in overtime to save his team with this pass for James Harden as a grand finale.
✅ Jayson Tatum. It took almost nothing for him to be the hero of the match with his 3-pointer which had given his team the advantage 38 seconds from the end. He carried his team through difficult times until it led to what could have been a resounding hold-up. 18 rebounds, his new career high in the playoffs.
✅⛔ Tyrese Maxey. Good will, activity but still a lot of waste in shooting to finish at 6/17.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 5 in Boston on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday (1h30).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
