BOSTON — There was no home cooking for the Boston Celtics as they were booed off the parquet floor of TD Garden on Tuesday night after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers, 115-103, in a critical Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The 76ers take control of the best-of-seven series with a 3-2 lead.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Coming off an agonizing Game 4 defeat in overtime, which allowed the 76ers to even the series, the Celtics knew they needed to come into Game 5 with a “desperation mindset.”
But the Celtics didn’t back up their talk, falling incredibly flat as they played with a complete lack of urgency for the majority of the contest and they ultimately paid the price.
While Philadelphia’s stars started on time, Jayson Tatum did not. Tatum missed all of his first-quarter shots for the second straight game while Al Horford also experienced some frigid shooting by missing all seven of his 3-point attempts for the game. That’s a lot of slack left to pick up.
With the Celtics struggling with their shooting, they also didn’t make any of the requisite hustle plays to win a playoff basketball game. Their play lacked energy and spirit, forcing Joe Mazzulla to insert Payton Pritchard into the game late in the third quarter to try to inject some life into his team.
It’s extremely puzzling in a game that the Celtics should have gone all out in that they didn’t, and now they are on the brink of their season crashing to an end.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Joel Embiid was once again a monster for the 76ers. The NBA MVP poured in 33 points on 10-for-23 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and recording four blocks. Embiid made plenty of trips to the charity stripe as well, making 10-of-11 free throws to aid his effort.
— Tyrese Maxey found his groove from beyond the arc and took over in the fourth quarter to make a stellar contribution to the winning effort. The shifty guard knocked down six 3-pointers en route to 30 points.
— Tatum got off to another slow start but did make up for it. He tallied a game-high 36 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists.
WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set Marcus Smart’s over/under for 3-pointers made at 1.5 with -166 odds on the Over. He took care of that early, splashing home two triples in the first quarter. A $100 wager on this prop bet would have resulted in a total of $160.24.
UP NEXT
The Celtics look to stave off elimination as they return to Philadelphia for Game 6 against the 76ers on Thursday. Tipoff from Wells Fargo Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
