76ers let Game 3 slip away, fall 2-1 in series to Boston

With all the momentum pointing the 76ers’ way after a huge Game 2 win against the Celtics, Boston simply had too much firepower and took down the Sixers 108-100.

It is a crushing blow for Philadelphia, which had a huge opportunity after getting home-court advantage with the win in Boston. The Xfinity Mobile Arena is known as one of the toughest arenas to play in as an away team, giving the 76ers such a massive chance to take a series lead over the Celtics after splitting the first two.

Yet, this Joel Embiid-less crew let down the faithful back at home and now has to work from behind.

Despite pregame reports that Embiid may suit up for Game 3, the former MVP ended up being ruled out a few hours before game time due to his appendectomy surgery recovery. There is a slim possibility for him to return for Game 4.

One may look at the box score and think that Tyrese Maxey had a great game and could not be at fault for the loss, as he scored 31 points. But when taking a closer look at Maxey’s 31, it becomes very clear that his inefficiency and forcing of shots killed any chance for Philly to come out on top. Maxey’s scoring came on 12/31 (38.7%) shooting from the field, much of which did not come until the third quarter. His lack of efficiency and his inability to create productive possessions were significant factors in why Boston was able to come away with this one.

Along with Maxey’s inefficiency, much of Philadelphia’s struggles came with their lack of bench scoring ability. Overall, the 76ers have a productive bench, but much of that productivity is in rebounding, defense, and other factors that are not scoring. With the Sixers holding the Celtics to just 108 points, defense clearly was not an issue, but scoring absolutely was. In times of need, Nick Nurse had almost nobody to turn to on the bench. The whole starting lineup was in double-digits for scoring, alongside Andre Drummond off the bench, but that was it for any meaningful scoring contributions. After Drummond, only Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards got any minutes off the bench, with Grimes being the lone scorer with two points. Had Philadelphia had better options in scoring, or had someone stepped up, it could have been enough offense to take this game.

Conversely, Boston utilized their complete scoring ability from the starting lineup to the bench to pick apart Philadelphia’s defense. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each came in and dropped 25 points, working as equal foes for the 76ers to defend against. With the two stars’ hot night, they drew in help defenders from the corners, which ultimately led to passes out to the corners and wings. Boston is arguably the best three-point shooting team in the entirety of the NBA, with Brown and Tatum taking full advantage of this. The dishes to the perimeter allowed for Baylor Scheierman, Nikola Vucevic, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard to add a combined 12 threes to the scoring column, proving to be too much to handle.

It was a rough night all around for Philadelphia, which seemed to always be right behind the Celtics all game long. The Sixers were able to snag a slight lead with a little over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Boston’s firepower quickly responded and went on a run of their own to begin to put the game back in their hands. A huge Pritchard three with one second left on the shot clock and about a minute remaining in the game gave the Celtics a five-point lead, which the team was able to ride out until the final horn.

The 76ers will get the chance to redeem themselves at home this Sunday in a crucial, must-win Game 4.

Evan Hartenstein

Evan has been a member of the Philly Sports Reports team since March 2023. He is covering the 76ers and wants to pursue a long-lasting career in Sports Journalism.

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