The Boston Celtics took the floor against a potential playoff opponent in the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night, and fell 103-101 in a highly intense contest.
While Philadelphia (well, mostly Joel Embiid) ended up with the victory, which essentially put Boston's chances at the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference to bed once and for all, there were several positives to take away from the regular-season series finale with the Sixers.
The C's entered the game undermanned, missing team co-star Jaylen Brown, defensive anchor Robert Williams and reserve unit guard Payton Pritchard, and still competed until the very end. Nevertheless, stumped by an unblemished night from the MVP candidate in Embiid, Boston's chances at a win remained sustainable.
But surviving Embiid's masterpiece of a performance wasn't the only positive head coach Joe Mazzulla took away following the road loss.
"We got 13 more shots than (the 76ers) did, we got seven more offensive rebounds, they only shot 16 free throws and we forced them into 12 turnovers and we only had eight," Mazzulla told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston's postgame coverage. "So it's funny how that is the recipe for success for our team more times than not, is to win on the margins. And so I thought we did a lot of good things throughout the entire game."
Embiid finished the night in sensational fashion, scoring 52 points -- the most scored by an opponent against the Celtics this season -- while shooting 20-of-25 from the field and 12-of-13 from the line with 13 rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes.
Yet, the Celtics still ended up with a game-winning shot opportunity before the final buzzer, which Jayson Tatum missed via a highly contested corner 3-point attempt.
During the third quarter, while Embiid scored 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from 2-point range, the Celtics underwent a costly cold streak. Boston shot just 7-of-22 in that frame.
"I think our offense -- we just weren't elite tonight," Mazzulla said. "And when your offense isn't elite, it puts pressure on your defense against great, great players. So, when you have some empty possessions and he's playing that way from mid-range, you just gotta stick with as long as you can."
Mazzulla added: "Our guys competed, I thought they were very detailed in keeping him off the free-throw line and we weren't tremendous like we normally are."
With three games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Celtics now sit one win -- or one 76ers loss -- away from officially clinching the No. 2 seed in the East.
