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Celtics edge 76ers to reach brink of National Basketball Association playoff sweep

Tatum missed both free throws that followed, but Boston escaped with a win in overtime to take a 3-0 series lead. The rest of the team is purely shooters, those are the only two that can drive and get inside, and if the Sixers shots are not sinking, they’re not going to win.

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His passing is so good he will find open players through the smallest gaps. Thats because 76ers Head Coach and ME native Brett Brown had just wrapped up a fifty win season for the young and over achieving Philly team.

It’s incredible to think that even without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, Boston is still one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals.

Simmons – coming off the back of a dismal display in game two – finished Saturday’s contest with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but a number of costly errors ultimately proved decisive. If Philadelphia can turn the tables and start off better, this series will go to a Game 5.

National Basketball Association teams that have fallen into a 3-0 series hole are 0-129 in their attempts to come back and win the series. It is insane that the Celtics are able to get such great production out of so many players, who have honestly been role players all of their life.

Against both Horford and Baynes, the key has seemingly been finding ways to create separation for Embiid. It is fantastic that a role player for the Celtics can step up when Kyrie is injured and can almost match his numbers. Along the way they’ve drafted young stars Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, as well as franchise-heartbeat Marcus Smart.

“My goal isn’t to go out there and drop 30 every game”, Simmons said. He’s gotten help from Kevin Love, who scored 31 points in Game 2 and 21 points in Game 3. “Ben’s going to learn a lot”. Hayward was lost for the season within minutes.

Riley: After Cleveland dropped their playoff opener to IN, we were just trying to figure out if James would make it out the first round. “I’m not one that was ever taught to play with our food, so when it comes down to it, we gotta finish it”.

“He’s got guts”, Stevens said of Tatum after Game 3.

The Celtics simply have the better team right now, and maybe that will change next year, but that’s just the way it is right now. “He’s able to look at the game and be able to make adjustments on the fly”.

“You don’t play what happened in the first three games”. Not only are his plays and basketball IQ unbelievable, but his overall strategy for the series and in general are great too. “It’s the first to four, so we gotta take care of business”. Philadelphia saw Simmons make crucial mistakes with the game hanging in the balance in Game 3.

Brad Stevens and company now have a 3-0 lead, and have dismantled the Sixers in every facet. “I couldn’t see why they thought it was a 3, but it gave us our breath a little bit”. He’s averaging a team-high 24.3 points per game but it’s not efficient.

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Boston played with more toughness. “Our guys are focused”, Stevens said of Monday night’s Game 4. He is different in his style of coaching. Bryant said Stevens’s eye for the game distinguishes him from other coaches in the league. He’s always making sure we’re in the right situations, and we know we can look toward him to make the right play. The rest of the story is that they needed 53. Fight, keep our mind believing some of what I said, I hope all of it and let their bodies recover and give us a chance. At the end of the day, the players are the ones who have to do what the coach says. They are the ones who have made a decision to play with intensity and they also make sure to slow down the tempo. And next season, he should have his stars back healthy, which should worry the other 29 National Basketball Association teams.

Confetti dropped too early in chaotic 76ers Celtics Game 3