By way of the primary half of Recreation 4, the Boston Celtics regarded misplaced. They had been outworked, outhustled, and outperformed by the Philadelphia 76ers, who had been on the lookout for revenge after Boston took Recreation 3.
A second-half turnaround noticed the Celtics storm again into the sport, however they finally fell in extra time because of some shoddy late-game execution — a story as previous because the common season.
And whereas they finally overcame the primary punch that Philadelphia threw at them, it simply wasn’t sufficient.
“They got here out with an amazing struggle,” mentioned Jaylen Brown. “They set the tone for the way the sport was gonna be officiated, and it labored. The harder crew units the principles, and tonight, that was them. They got here out, that they had a stage of physicality, and it took us some time to match it.”
The 76ers had been up by as many as 16 factors, and it took the Celtics till halfway by the fourth quarter to lastly recover from the hump.
James Harden’s and Joel Embiid’s aggressiveness overwhelmed Boston and was solely matched by a fourth-quarter flurry that noticed the Celtics lock in on each ends.
Time beyond regulation ended with a defensive breakdown and a failure to execute on offense, however Boston is transferring ahead with an upbeat mentality.
“I don’t have a look at this as a deflation for us,” mentioned Marcus Good. “Clearly, we bought to be taught from our errors, clear up a few issues, and simply carry that very same depth.”
Al Horford echoed that feeling, stating that he’s “fairly inspired” after the struggle Boston confirmed to get again into the sport. The sequence is tied 2-2, however because the Celtics head again to TD Backyard, spirits are excessive.
Slightly than placing their heads down and sulking, the Celtics are selecting to stay optimistic, even when a few Recreation 4 tweaks might have had them up 3-1.
“We nonetheless bought a possibility to return out on our house flooring and play basketball,” Brown mentioned. “And that’s what it comes all the way down to. The slightest particulars can price you a recreation, and the slightest particulars will help you win a recreation. And we bought to ensure that we’re the crew that comes out on high.”
Within the fourth quarter of Recreation 4, the Celtics placed on a present. Jayson Tatum picked up the tempo, Al Horford locked down Embiid within the submit, and so they mounted an enormous comeback. Boston even had an opportunity to win the sport, however Good’s shot try didn’t fall.
It’s simple to level out the letdowns on the finish of the sport — and there have been a lot — however residing prior to now received’t get the Celtics anyplace.
As a substitute, Boston hopes to be taught from Recreation 4 and reply on Tuesday night time.
“We had that recreation in our grasp,” mentioned Brown. “Rebounds, defensive breakdowns—there have been quite a lot of issues that went into why we didn’t come out on high. However we’ll watch it and prepare for the following one.”
