The Boston Celtics’ confusing midseason stretch continued on Sunday with perhaps their most stunning game of the entire campaign. After falling behind by 26 points late in the third quarter against a shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers team missing both Joel Embiid and Paul George, Boston stormed back in the fourth quarter to earn a 118-110 win.
The Celtics’ 26-point comeback was their largest under coach Joe Mazzulla and matched the largest by any team in the NBA this season.
At the 2:56 mark of the third quarter, Ricky Council IV scored to put the Sixers up 90-64. Over the final 14:56, the Celtics outscored the Sixers 54-20. During that incredible closing stretch, the Celtics shot 20 of 27 from the field, including 12 of 16 from behind the arc.
“You get a few chances to where you really see the guys do something special in the regular season,” Mazzulla said. “I was proud to coach them.”
The Celtics have now won three games in a row for their longest winning streak in a month, and improved to 35-15, which has them 2.5 games ahead of the New York Knicks in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Here’s a quick look at how the Celtics got the job done on Sunday:
Live by the 3
The Celtics recently went through a major shooting slump, at least by their standards. From Dec. 23 through Jan. 23, they shot 35.9%, which ranked 17th in the league in that span. Their poor shooting was a major reason they played just about .500 basketball in that time (9-8).
Lately, though, they’ve started to improve, and the comeback against the Sixers could be their official turning point. They started the process by making four consecutive 3s to close the third quarter and cut the deficit down to a manageable 14 points heading into the fourth. In the final frame, they made another five in a row at one point, then two late daggers to seal the win.
“I think we were letting the officiating and all the other stuff, the zone — just play basketball,” Jaylen Brown said. “We’re the better team, and everything will work itself out. Don’t complain. Just keep shooting the ball, and it will work itself out, and it did.”
All told, the Celtics shot a remarkable 12 of 16 from 3-point range in the final 14:56 after starting the game 9 of 33. The comeback was another reminder that the Celtics are borderline unstoppable when the 3s start going down at a high rate. They’re now 24-3 when they shoot at least 37.5% from 3-point range this season.
Tatum takeover
Tatum struggled for much of January, shooting just 42.3% from the field, including 31.3% from 3-point range, as his scoring output fell to 23.6 points per game. That’s not good enough from arguably a top-five player in the league. He closed the month by hitting a game-winner in the final second against the New Orleans Pelicans, however, and started February by leading the Celtics’ incredible comeback.
Over the final 14:56, Tatum shot 6 of 8 from the field, including 4 of 5 from deep, and put up 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists. He either scored or assisted on 36 of the team’s final 54 points. The Sixers simply had no answer for him down the stretch, as he perfectly combined his scoring and playmaking abilities.
Mazzulla praised Tatum for his “poise and his ability to kind of pick the defense apart.” He continued, “their zone kind of forced him to see some two-on-ones, and he made them. And in the second half, we were able to play through his poise and his decision-making on the offensive end.”
Tatum finished the night with 35 points, 11 assists and seven reboubnds for one of his best performances of the season.
Eliminating Maxey
Tyrese Maxey has been on a tear lately. He entered Sunday with four consecutive 30-point efforts, including two 40-point outings. With Embiid and George both sidelined again, Maxey has put the Sixers on his back, to some surprising success in the last few weeks.
The first three quarters of Sunday’s contest were another Maxey masterclass, as he torched the Celtics from the inside and outside en route to 32 points on 9 of 17 from the field. That all changed in the fourth, as the Celtics held Maxey to just two points on 0 of 4 shooting in the final 12 minutes.
Not only did the Celtics turn up the intensity on that side of the ball, they changed their approach to take Maxey out of the game. Check out this possession early in the fourth when Tatum was face-guarding Maxey all the way at midcourt.
Down the stretch, they sent multiple bodies Maxey’s way, particulary in pick-and-roll situations, and forced other players to try and beat them, which they were unable to do.
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