He instead tries to find Tatum in traffic, the pass bounces off his hands, and that's the game. The Celtics have struggled with inbounds plays this postseason, but this one gets Smart going to the hoop for what looks like a go-ahead layup. That leaves one final chance with eight seconds left. He's fouled with 26 seconds left and makes both free throws to give the Celtics a one-point lead. Tatum attacks immediately with a 2-for-1 opportunity.к: TNT | Game 1 | PHI at BOS /HfsrXMjyYa- NBA May 2, 2023 Behold their crunch time offense: hoping the other guys run out of time. He instead throws blindly to the top of the key and directly to Maxey, who races the other way in disbelief for the go-ahead dunk while the Celtics plaintively wave for a shot clock violation. The final finds Brogdon with a second to shoot. The Celtics make six passes as the shot clock evaporates. At the risk of overstatement, what follows is the worst possession in NBA history.The Celtics grab two offensive rebounds before Horford's layup makes it 113-110 with 1:14 left. Tatum attacks the paint early in the shot clock, putting the Sixers into scramble mode.The Celtics get a good shot and an offensive rebound, but a cutting Tatum can't make a layup and Tyrese Maxey converts a 3-point play the other way. After a Horford block and outlet pass, Jaylen Brown has the makings of a 3-on-2, but he pulls it out to run clock.His rushed pass to Malcolm Brogdon is deflected back to him, and he catches more backboard than iron on a fall-away 3-pointer. Tatum dribbles aimlessly 35 feet from the hoop until three seconds remain on the shot clock.That's when ball movement ceases, Jayson Tatum pounds the logo, and the Celtics inevitably launch a contested 23-footer.Ĭonsider their possessions over the final three minutes after a Marcus Smart 3-point play gave them a 111-107 lead: They lost this game, just like they lost Game 5 to the Hawks, because they can't create a shot in the last two minutes. The stats will show that the Celtics shot 58.7 percent and couldn't stop Philly, which would seemingly put this on the defense. How often have we watched this pattern unfold: Celtics race to an early lead on ball movement and pace, ease up before halftime, and then trigger a freeway pileup late in the fourth quarter? Forsberg: Celtics flirting with danger again after familiar Game 1 loss They're never about the opponent, and always about the Celtics. But really, the problems that plagued the Celtics could just as easily have occurred against the 2016 Warriors or the 1990 Mansfield High JV Hornets.
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