Sixers 113, Celtics 97

 

Early in the third quarter last night, the Boston Celtics had a 13-point lead. Protecting that lead would have won the quarterfinal playoff series for Boston. But the Celtics only managed 34 more points the rest of the game while allowing the Sixers 63, and blew the opportunity. The series heads back to Philly 3-2, with the Sixers thinking they now have a longshot chance at winning.

There's no pointing the finger at any one player for blame - the whole team shot poorly all game, especially down the stretch. Nothing seemed to drop in the fourth, and although the three-point scoring was ice cold, the C's kept launching from outside. Even Pritchard was 1-5 on three-pointers. 

Down three games to one at the start of last night's contest, the Sixers were facing elimination and were obviously more motivated and wanted it more that the lackadaisical Celtics. That attitude had better be reversed Saturday for Game Six in Philly, because the Celtics shouldn't want to face the Sixers in a Game 7 back in the Garden, where Philly is 2-1 and confident this series.