Boston (USA), May 11 (EFE) 95 to the Sixers in Philadelphia.
Thus, this Eastern semifinal will be decided on Sunday in a seventh game in Boston (3-3).
Tatum was about to sign one of the worst games of his life (5 of 21 shots at the end) but in the final quarter he made four decisive triples for a total of 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Celtics star signed more points in that quarter (16) than the Sixers (13 in total) who collapsed at the end.
Marcus Smart (22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists) and Jaylen Brown (17 points and 6 rebounds) sustained Boston during Tatum’s slump, while Al Horford, who at times managed to neutralize Joel Embiid, had 2 points and 11 rebounds.
For the Sixers, who blew a golden opportunity to reach their first conference final since 2001, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who between them turned the game around several times and brought hope to their team, each contributed 26 points. The Cameroonian also added 10 rebounds.
James Harden added 13 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists on a gray 4-of-16 shooting.
Philadelphia couldn’t figure out Boston’s defense and was left at a poor 36.1% shooting from the field with 23.5% (8 of 34) from three-pointers.
CELTICS START STRONG DESPITE TATUM
With Robert Williams as the new start instead of Derrick White, the Celtics began focused on closing the defense and more successful in attack than the Sixers, so the visitors crossed the equator of the first quarter ahead (7-15).
Harden missed all four of his shots in that period and Tatum missed all five of his shots.
In this way, Malcolm Brogdon, 3 of 3 on triples for 11 points, was the only player who reached double digits in scoring in the first quarter (22-29).
The Celtics’ defense continued at a high level in the second period and, with Smart and Brown scoring what Tatum did not contribute, the visitors reached the middle of that period with a +16 (28-44).
However, Embiid, with only 12 points at halftime, and Maxey (15) joined forces to reduce Boston’s lead to 7 when the buzzer announced the intermission (43-50).
Tatum lived a nightmare in the first half, missing his 10 field goals and going to the locker room with only one point on his locker.
Embiid and Maxey took a run at the restart but it was Georges Niang, with a triple, who reduced the Celtics’ lead to just 2 points (60-62) with 5.30 left to play
Boston seemed to be falling apart and two free throws from Embiid coupled with two from Harden put the hosts ahead for the first time in the game.
The third quarter was controlled by the Sixers (30-21) and thus they reached the last period ahead (73-71)
However, Tatum, shooting dismal 1-of-13 for just 3 points in the first three quarters, resurfaced with enormous force when his team needed him most.
With the two teams alternating on the scoreboard in a very sharp game, two consecutive three-pointers by Tatum gave the Celtics a 4-point lead, the most in the quarter so far (83-87 with 3:35 to go).
The locals got into an amazing and brutal jam, so much so that they only scored 5 points in the last six minutes of the game.
Instead, Tatum shined with two more 3-pointers down the stretch and sent the series back to Boston for a seventh and final game.
