Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Game 4 Loss to Sixers: Boston Falls One Play Short of 3-1 Lead
In this story:
James Harden has had a lot of playoff clunkers. The former MVP doesn't always follow those up by playing at his best. But on Sunday, he met the moment.
Harden's 42 points, nine assists, and four steals were all game-highs. He also grabbed eight rebounds and only committed one turnover.
He scored four points in the final two minutes of regulation, leading a 7-2 Sixers run to force overtime. That included a game-tying bucket from 12 feet. And in overtime, when Jaylen Brown doubled off him to help Jayson Tatum contest Joel Embiid at the rim, Harden collected a kick-out pass and buried what proved to be a series-tying three.
As for the Celtics, whether it was starting the game with more energy, especially at the defensive end, or playing more assertively offensively instead of only producing 12 points in the paint in the first 24 minutes, they needed to make one more play to return home up 3-1.
The same goes for paying the price for not keeping Philadelphia off the glass, giving up a P.J. Tucker put-back through contact, leading to an old-school three-point play to help the hosts erase Boston's late lead. The Sixers also had a 4-0 edge in second-chance points in overtime.
And if what would've been a game-winning three by Marcus Smart left his hand faster, or the visitors were quicker to initiate their offense after Harden's three and Joe Mazzulla trusted his players to continue creating quality looks without him taking a timeout, as they had done to that moment and nearly rewarded him for again, the Celtics would've taken both games in the City of Brotherly Love.
But it's not a game of ifs or almosts, and as impressive as Boston's second-half rally was, Philadelphia made just enough plays to salvage what would've been a back-breaking loss.
Now for a deep dive into what stood out as it all unfolded.
1. The Celtics took the Sixers' first punch and responded forcefully. Jaylen Brown led the counterstrike, registering 12 of the former's first 14 points.
P.J. Tucker not making Boston pay for helping off him remained a problem for Philadelphia at the start of Game 4. Tucker started Sunday's matchup 0/3, with each miss coming from the corners.
2. But after Brown went to the bench at the 4:33 mark, the game went from tied at 15 to the visitors putting only four points on the board, struggling against man and zone defense, entering the second frame trailing 27-19.
The Celtics did well protecting the perimeter, being selective about who to leave open, translating to the hosts only making 1/9 threes. Granted, the former would like to limit the opposition from taking that many in a quarter.
But four turnovers and struggles generating quality shots are what Boston most needs to clean up moving forward. Jayson Tatum went scoreless, missing all five field-goal attempts he hoisted in the first 12 minutes.
3. James Harden scored or assisted on every Sixers basket in the first 4:30 of the second frame. Playing more aggressively, he attacked downhill, got to his left more, and buried his first two threes.
At that juncture, he had 18 points, leading all participants. The former MVP entered halftime leading all scorers with 21 points on 8/11 shooting.
Philadelphia also got an excellent opening 24 minutes from the new MVP as Joel Embiid manufactured 19 points, guarded Marcus Smart, allowing him to switch onto the visitors' top scorers, and protected the rim, helping limit Boston to 12 points in the paint. The Sixers' star center also grabbed 11 rebounds, the most anyone snagged through two periods.
4. But the Celtics managed to stay within nine points, entering the break down 59-50. Joe Mazzulla stresses the importance of closing quarters well. Doing so in Sunday's second frame, outscoring the hosts 10-3 in the final 1:13, kept Boston within striking distance despite getting outplayed and shooting below 40 percent in the first half. Taking seven more attempts from behind the arc (25 to 18) and making three more than Philadelphia (nine to six) played a significant role in staying close.
5. Tatum struggled to find his rhythm in the first half, faring 1/9 from the field, not dealing well with the physical nature of the Sixers' defense, and missing open shots when they became available. He entered the break with two points and no free-throw attempts.
6. But the Celtics got a needed boost from Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon. He helped pick up the slack, converting on 4/7 shots in the second quarter and scoring all 13 of his first-half points in the frame, the second-most in the period behind Harden's 15.
7. The visitors again closed the quarter well in the third frame, staging an 8-0 run to get within seven before a Tyrese Maxey layup extended the hosts' lead to 93-82 entering the final 12 minutes.
Tatum had five of those eight points. The four-time All-Star came alive in the third period, attacking downhill to produce 13 points on 5/5 shooting. Every attempt came at the basket. That approach earned him his first three free throws of the game, which he also knocked down. Tatum's the only player who scored in double-digits in the quarter.
8. The Celtics' star took his play to an even higher level in the final frame. He led an 8-0 run, including driving and kicking to Brown for a three and swatting a Georges Niang layup after committing a turnover, then finishing a reverse layup in transition. That bucket tied the game at 96 with 5:25 left.
Shortly after that, Tatum snagged an offensive rebound, leading to Al Horford driving down the lane for a dunk that gave Boston a 98-96 edge, its first advantage on the scoreboard since it was 19-17 in the first quarter.
With the visitors locking in defensively, exemplified by Horford not giving an inch to Embiid after he received an entry pass in the middle of the floor, then swatted his jumper, and attacking downhill at the other end, creating points at the rim and open threes, the Celtics extended their run to 17-4, pulling ahead 105-100 with 2:03 remaining.
But an old-school three-point play by Tucker after he grabbed an offensive rebound at the basket, then got the put-back to go, and five points by Harden, including a floater from 12 feet with 16 seconds left, propelled the Sixers to a 7-2 run in the final two minutes to force overtime after a clean look at a three at the buzzer didn't go down for Marcus Smart.
9. Tatum registered 17 points in the second half, the most for Boston. His nine rebounds led all participants in that stretch. And he dished out four assists and swatted two shots. He also only had one turnover. After a quiet first half, he played up to his superstar status.
10. Despite a clutch three by Tatum in overtime, giving the visitors a 115-113 lead with 38 seconds left. But when Embiid got to the basket against the four-time All-Star at the other end, Brown came over to double the MVP. That left Harden open for a corner three he buried.
As difficult as it is to allow Embiid to score at the rim, this author's not a fan of doubling off someone beyond the arc, especially not Harden in a game he finished with 42 points, leading all scorers. Living with a chance to counter at the other end, then challenging those two to keep up if a second overtime's needed, seems preferable even without the benefit of hindsight.
The Celtics nearly rendered Harden's three irrelevant, but with Mazzulla again not calling a timeout, a decision he stuck with down the stretch of the fourth quarter and the fifth frame, his team didn't always capitalize on but consistently got clean looks from. But this time, they took too long to initiate their offense, and Smart's three splashed through the net but didn't leave his hand in time.
The visitors' rally coming up short, and the Sixers salvaging a 116-115 overtime win means the series returns to Boston tied at two.
Up Next
Game 5 between the Celtics and Sixers is Tuesday at TD Garden; tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the matchup before, during, and afterward. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.
Further Reading
Joe Mazzulla Sheds Light on Keys to Celtics' Defense Stifling Sixers in Game 3 Win
Joe Mazzulla Shares His Perspective on Balancing What's Working with Need for Adjustments
Film Room: Recalibrating Celtics' Defense for Game 2 Against Sixers
Celtics Address Letting Guard Down in Game 1 Loss to Sixers Team Missing Joel Embiid
