There was a moment in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game when the 76ers actually came back and tied things against the Celtics. But then, Boston rebounded and punched back, making 8 of their next 9 threes and completely putting the game to bed, en route to a 123-101 victory in Philadelphia.
This game was supposed to be all about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but it ended up coming down to the Celtics working the Sixers with relentless off-ball actions, great ball movement, and knockdown shooting.
As well as Boston has played this season, these kinds of three-point explosions have been largely missing, except in a couple of blowouts against bad teams. It was great to see the offense clicking and everybody executing like this against a good Sixers team in a hostile road environment in what felt like a playoff atmosphere.
How Boston's ball movement shredded Philadelphia's defense
All told, the Celtics took 49 three-pointers and hit 22, good for a 45% clip. Paul George led the way, knocking down 6-11, while Payton Pritchard went 4-8 off the bench and Sam Hauser went 4-6. Tatum added 3-7, Hugo Gonzalez was 2-4, and Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, and Baylor Scheierman each hit one.
It was a total team effort, and more importantly, it was more about the crisp execution and ball movement than anyone catching fire and going on a heater. There was nothing fluky about it. The Celtics just got into their offense, ran their sets with purpose, made the right play over and over again, and ended possessions by hitting their shots.
Why Boston's 3-point surge must become the blueprint
It sounds simple, and in some ways, when they are this locked in, it really is. But the 76ers came into this game with the third-best defense in the league, and they had no answers once the Celtics started cooking. So, to have this kind of performance across the board in a big game against an elite (so far, on paper) defense is a great sign.
There will obviously be nights when they don’t shoot this well, but there’s really no reason they shouldn’t be able to generate this many high-quality looks. When the Celtics make the right read and stick to the game plan, they are very difficult to guard, and at the end of the possession, someone is almost definitely going to end up with a good shot.
The fact that they weren’t even in the top-5 in three-point attempts per game before this Philly clash was a bit concerning and slightly disappointing, but this game showed their potential and exactly what they can be when everything is clicking. Hopefully, it’s a springboard of sorts, and they can keep up this level of execution and get back to regularly burying teams with three-point barrages.
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