Despite trailing by 26 points late in the third quarter, the Boston Celtics stormed back to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 54-20 on Sunday night, 118-110.
Celtics overcome early setbacks
With 76ers star players Joel Embiid and Paul George absent, it looked like a normal win for Philadelphia as they dominated for three quarters. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla, however, saw something different in his players’ demeanor.
“I was reading their body language and it looked like they wanted to do whatever it took to win,” Mazzulla said. “So I stayed with them.”
That decision proved to be the turning point, as Boston got off to a strong start and powered the comeback by making 12 of 16 3-pointers in the final 15 minutes.
Tatum and White are the key players
Jayson Tatum led the way with 25 points in the second half, 35 points.
“We had to be honest with ourselves at halftime,” Tatum said. “Our competitive spirit wasn’t where it needed to be. Joe told me, ‘If you’re tired, let me know, I’ll take your place.’ And we had to make a decision.”
Boston’s comeback began with a 3-pointer at 2:42 of the third quarter by Derrick White, who snapped a 9-of-33 shooting slump from the three-point line. White then made another 3-pointer, as well as shots by Sam Hauser and Tatum, which cut the deficit to 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Tatum then hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Boston a 101-100 lead, then blocked a shot by Tyrese Maxey, which set up a fast-break dunk by Luke Cornette. The Celtics beat Philadelphia 41-10 in just eight minutes, earning their third straight win and first in more than a month.
Jaylen Brown: ‘A special win’
Jalen Brown praised the team’s resilience.”It’s easy to call it a night, change teams and make excuses,” Brown said. “But we came together, we stuck together and we fought back in a hostile environment.”
Sixers collapse after strong start
Before the second-quarter loss, Philadelphia was cruising to its fifth win in six games, even without Embiid and George.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse offered some hope, saying Embiid (knee) and George (foot) could return sometime this week.
The 76ers will face the Mavericks at home on Tuesday, followed by games against the Heat, Pistons and Bucks as they look to regain momentum.
