After suffering back-to-back losses earlier in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the 76ers now are back in the driver’s seat of their best-of-seven set with the Celtics.
Philadelphia secured another playoff win in Boston on Tuesday. Behind a versatile and sound defensive approach and an in-sync offense, the Sixers notched a 115-103 win that gave them a chance to punch a ticket to the Eastern Conference finals on their home floor Thursday night.
Doc Rivers commended his team for its well-rounded and hard-fought effort in Game 5, but the veteran head coach stressed to the 76ers that the job isn’t yet finished.
“That’s a great effort,” Rivers told the Sixers in the locker room after Tuesday’s game, per a team-provided video. “Everybody pitched in. Defensively, got your hands involved. Pushed the ball, kept the floor and the ball moved. We gotta keep playing. Let’s go.”
If the 76ers mirror their Game 5 play Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, they’ll position themselves well to earn a third straight win over the reigning East champions. And if Philadelphia eliminates Boston in Game 6, it will signal the franchise’s first trip to the conference finals since the 2000-01 campaign.
Tipoff for Celtics-76ers Game 6 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
