The Boston Celtics had a chance to take a 2-0 lead on Sunday night, but they missed it. The chance slipped through their fingers, and the Philadelphia 76ers stole home-court advantage.
A VJ Edgecombe master class derailed Boston’s hot start to the night, and it never managed to catch back up.
Here is one up and three downs from the game.
The Sixers knew what was at stake in this game. They knew that, had they put up a dud in this game, people would begin calling the series all but over.
They played with the intensity to match that reality. Boston did not.
For long stretches of this game, it felt like Philadelphia was first to every loose ball. Pressuring the ball whenever Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown ran the pick-and-roll. Up in Boston’s space every chance they got.
And the Celtics just felt a step slow. One second late to contest. Thrown off their rhythm by ball pressure.
It was not the level of intensity Boston needed on Tuesday night.
Up: The Jays (for most of the game)
For all the wrongs that happened in this game, Tatum and Brown were right.
Both had some down moments. Brown drove into traffic without a plan. Tatum was ice-cold from 3-point range and took a couple of less-than-ideal shots. Yet for most of the game, they were the only source of consistency for Boston’s offense.
When they were on the court together, it was offensive bliss. Early in the first quarter, in particular, they played off each other’s gravity perfectly. And as the game went on, it was harder and harder for the Sixers to keep track of both of them at the same time.
As Boston battled to keep up with the 76ers’ hustle, intensity, and defensive pressure, Tatum and Brown were its best options.
All that said, Tatum and Brown both spiraled in the second half. They were turning the ball over, they couldn’t find their rhythm, and everything that was working in the first half slowly went awry in the second.
It was a rapid decline of a game plan that worked well for a fleeting moment in time.
