NBA: Late heroics from Jayson Tatum push Celtics past 76ers, force Game 7
Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates a basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
Jayson Tatum hit four 3-pointers in the final 4:14 of the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics defeated the host Philadelphia 76ers 95-86 on Thursday to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series at three wins apiece.
Game 7 will be played on Sunday in Boston.
Tatum started 1-for-14 but rallied to finish with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 5-of-21 shooting.
“I’m one of — humbly, one of the best basketball players in the world,” Tatum said in a postgame interview on ESPN. “You go through struggles. You go through slumps. My teammates trusted me.”
Jayson Tatum went OFF in Q4 of Game 6 🔥
16 PTS
4/5 3PMCeltics force Game 7 on Sunday 👀#NBAPlayoffs presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/bvHuRTOZdh
— NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2023
Marcus Smart led the Celtics with 22 points and Jaylen Brown added 17. Malcolm Brogdon contributed 16, Robert Williams chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds, and Al Horford grabbed 11 rebounds.
Joel Embiid put up 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots and Tyrese Maxey added 26 points for the Sixers, who haven’t advanced to the Eastern Conference finals since 2001.
James Harden had 13 points and nine assists.
The Sixers shot just 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) from 3-point range, with Harden going 0-for-6.
“I would say we had a lot of wide open threes,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “We just didn’t make them.”
Philadelphia is looking for its first playoff series victory over the Celtics since 1982, having lost to Boston five times in the postseason since then.
Tatum hit back-to-back contested 3-pointers and the Celtics led 87-83 with 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Maxey shot an airball on a trey attempt but then came back to hit 1 of 2 free throws to cut the deficit to 87-84.
The 76ers led by five points late in the third quarter and by two in the middle of the fourth.
In the second quarter, the Celtics controlled the tempo, led by as many as 16 and took a 50-43 lead into halftime even with Tatum shooting 0-for-10 from the field.
Smart paced the Celtics with 15 first-half points. Maxey kept the Sixers close with 15 points before the break.
When Georges Niang dropped in a trey from the corner with 5:30 left in the third, the Sixers closed within 62-60.
After an empty possession by the Celtics, Embiid drew a foul and hit two free throws. Harden then made two free throws and the Sixers went ahead 64-62.
Derrick White responded with a 3-pointer, his third of the game, and the Celtics regained a one-point advantage.
The Sixers led 73-71 at the end of the third.
