Celtics

The Celtics haven't exactly lit the world on fire over the past month. But as Chris Forsberg writes, they've found ways to deliver when it counts in a ...

The Celtics have to carry some of this win-ugly momentum over to the postseason to get where they want to go. That Tatum can be a negative in consecutive road games and the Celtics can still prevail is a big step for a team that hasn’t always kept its head above water when Tatum struggles. There’s still a couple levels the Celtics can kick this thing up. Boston is now 20-8 in clutch games -- score within five points; final five minutes -- with nearly all of those clutch losses coming as part of a ridiculous nine overtime games (Boston is 4-5 in those contests). Until then, it’s not the worst thing to keep winning ugly. Boston is 9-5 over its last 14 games and sits 14th in the NBA in offensive rating over that span. A year ago, the Celtics were a second-half juggernaut. Some of this is understandable: The Celtics spent much of January and early February decimated by injuries. And that's simply the way it’s been for the 2022-23 Celtics. Despite all that, the Celtics just keep winning. A plus-4.9 net rating overall is third in the league over those 14 games but the Celtics have had some really bad stretches even in wins. While they have stretches of dominant play, this group has more regularly had to grind through adversity to prevail.

Joel Embiid's long heave that would've sent the game to overtime came after the buzzer.

Now, Tatum has the ball going downhill against a rotating Sixers defense instead of trying to break them down from a stand-still position. There are a lot of moving parts here for the Sixers to read instead of just keying in on one guy with the ball. This alignment spreads the floor to an incredible degree and gives the Sixers all sorts of things to worry about. Let's take a closer look at how the Celtics were able to free up Tatum for the game-winning shot. In the waning seconds, [Jayson Tatum](/nba/players/2268018/jayson-tatum/) hit a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 110-107 lead, which proved to be the final score after [Joel Embiid's](/nba/players/2135528/joel-embiid/) made three-quarter court heave was ruled to have come after at the buzzer. The Celtics' first attempt to find a game-winner was cut short by the Sixers using their foul to give.

Jayson Tatum had a rare off-night in Philadelphia on Saturday night, but his teammates helped carry the load in a 110-107 win over the Sixers.

- If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page. “I started talking to one of the fans but it got a little excessive, a little disrespectful and stuff like that,” Brown told Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston. “That helped us, whether it was Jaylen, Al, D-White and Malcolm and (Marcus) Smart at the end of the game executing. Mazzulla featured what was essentially an eight-man rotation Saturday. It’s just that understanding and every time I’m out there, just try to bring the same energy and effort and try to help the team every minute I’m out there.” That’s the luxury of this roster, where another All-Star picks up the scoring slack and NBA-level starters are coming off the bench. Horford rained 3-pointers – including on three straight possessions – that helped boost Boston back into the game after it fell behind by 15 points in the third quarter. I think tonight was a good example of that.” “We’re playing for something bigger than getting numbers individually. While Tatum was a huge part of the 110-107 win over the Sixers, he was also just a part of the Celtics’ overall team victory. The team trusted him to take the final shot – the All-Star delivered as he nailed the game-winning 3-pointer.

After scoring 41 points in a dramatic loss Saturday to the Celtics, Joel Embiid was displeased with the Sixers' mentality once they built a 15-point lead in ...

“After the game, I was talking to him,” Embiid said. We have them home and then away, so that’s going to be tough. “Guys are going to come out and play hard, play their style of basketball. You’ve just got to stick to your concepts and be as forceful as possible.” We relaxed a little bit and we’ve just got to be better.” “My main thing for him is to just be aggressive. … Whether it’s coming off the bench or starting, just want him to be aggressive and play freely.” “Being up 15, I thought we were not all ready to play basketball and we’ve just got to be better — all of us. But I told him we’re not going anywhere unless he’s aggressive and he just plays freely. “So I had to kind of go back to my right side to try to get it off. Like tonight, you’re up by 15 and then the next thing you know, they take the lead going into the fourth just because we didn’t have the same mentality that we had until that point. PJ Tucker pulled down 16 rebounds and generally looked like a player capable of making “winning plays” for the Sixers in the postseason.

Jayson Tatum fought through his shooting struggles and made a 3-pointer with a second left to give the Celtics the win. Read more on Boston.com.

If you miss five in a row and the next one you wide open, you got to shoot it. He nailed a 3-pointer to put the Celtics up 102-97 with 3:16 left. He assisted Al Horford on another 3-pointer that put the Celtics up 105-103 with 1:38. Tatum played poorly on the offensive for much of the game prior to his game-winning shot. Tatum got the ball, but was fouled as the 76ers had a foul to give with 5.2 seconds left. The shot went in, as did Embiid’s heave right after, but that one didn’t count, so the Celtics pulled away with a 110-107.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were playing well in a huge matchup with the Boston Celtics on Saturday night. Everything was going their way and they ...

“You go up by 15 and next thing you know, they take the lead going into the fourth just because we didn’t have the same mentality that we had until that time. The Celtics ended the third on a 28-11 run to take the lead entering the fourth quarter and they built a 10-point lead in the final frame. Recently, they have blown leads, they have had to rally from large deficits, and this is all part of the learning process. Everything was going their way and they built a 67-52 lead in the third on a James Harden step back triple. I mean, I was on the floor. “We relaxed,” said Embiid after the loss.

Joe Mazzulla posed a question to the Boston Celtics after their thrilling road win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

That’s my only job — to bring you to where you can be. My only job is to hold you to the standard of how good this team can be. The C’s looked like a legitimate contender Saturday night in Philadelphia, but not by overpowering the 76ers.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla couldn't hide his competitive fire after his Celtics earned a thrilling road victory over the Sixers on Saturday night.

(The C's are 3-0 against Philly this season with one matchup remaining.) After the Celtics [Jaylen Brown](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/jaylen-brown), [Robert Williams](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/robert-williams-iii?b) and [Marcus Smart](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/marcus-smart) as they headed toward the locker room.

The Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 110-107 on Saturday in a back-and-forth game that ended up tied with 5.9 seconds remaining. It was Boston ball and ...

Jayson Tatum had a rare off-night in Philadelphia on Saturday night, but his teammates helped carry the load in a 110-107 win over the Sixers.

“I started talking to one of the fans but it got a little excessive, a little disrespectful and stuff like that,” Brown told Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston. “That helped us, whether it was Jaylen, Al, D-White and Malcolm and (Marcus) Smart at the end of the game executing. It’s just that understanding and every time I’m out there, just try to bring the same energy and effort and try to help the team every minute I’m out there.” While Tatum was a huge part of the 110-107 win over the Sixers, he was also just a part of the Celtics’ overall team victory. “We understand that we have a lot of talented guys on the team,” White said. It could be everybody and we trust everybody on the team.

After scoring 41 points in a dramatic loss Saturday to the Celtics, Joel Embiid was displeased with the Sixers' mentality once they built a 15-point lead in ...

We have them home and then away, so that’s going to be tough. “After the game, I was talking to him,” Embiid said. “Guys are going to come out and play hard, play their style of basketball. You’ve just got to stick to your concepts and be as forceful as possible.” We relaxed a little bit and we’ve just got to be better.” “My main thing for him is to just be aggressive. … Whether it’s coming off the bench or starting, just want him to be aggressive and play freely.” “Being up 15, I thought we were not all ready to play basketball and we’ve just got to be better — all of us. But I told him we’re not going anywhere unless he’s aggressive and he just plays freely. “So I had to kind of go back to my right side to try to get it off. Like tonight, you’re up by 15 and then the next thing you know, they take the lead going into the fourth just because we didn’t have the same mentality that we had until that point. PJ Tucker pulled down 16 rebounds and generally looked like a player capable of making “winning plays” for the Sixers in the postseason.

Jayson Tatum hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift the Boston Celtics past the host Philadelphia 76ers, 110-107, on Saturday.

Jayson Tatum made at least one Philly fan happy Saturday night in Eagles star wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who snagged Tatum's game-worn jersey after the ...

But we'll just add that if Smith wants to attend Celtics games on a regular basis (and reunite with college quarterback [admitted as much shortly after the Eagles drafted him](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/devonta-smith-wont-abandon-celtics-fandom-after-joining-eagles?b) out of Alabama in 2021 and tweeted his support of the C's throughout their run to the NBA Finals last spring. [Jayson Tatum](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/jayson-tatum?b) hit a dagger 3-pointer to lift the Boston Celtics to [a 110-107 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/celtics-vs-76ers-takeaways-jayson-tatum-drills-game-winner-philly?b), the C's star sought out Smith courtside and gave the Eagles wide receiver his autographed, game-worn jersey.

The Boston Celtics will be without their regular starting five for one more game as Jaylen Brown is listed out tomorrow against the New York Knicks due to ...

The Celtics will look to hold on to the best record in the league as the Bucks, who have won 14 games in a row, are right in the rearview mirror. Brown has been playing with a mask since his facial fracture shortly before the All-Star break. With Brown out, White’s presence will be really helpful against a surging New York team currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers fell short to the Celtics once again. After a loss like that, what does Doc Rivers say to his team?

While NBA teams, especially the Celtics, are used to the comments fans shout at them from the stands, Boston guard Jaylen Brown admitted some fans went a bit “ ...

The Celtics won't have one of their starters when they take on the Knicks on Monday.

[Massachusetts online sports betting](https://www.masslive.com/betting/massachusetts/)is coming soon. [Brown put up 26 points in the Celtics’ 110-107 win over the Sixers](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/02/four-takeaways-as-celtics-beat-the-sixers-110-107-on-jayson-tatums-game-winning-3.html) on Saturday. But the Bucks are on a 14-game winning streak and are only a half-game behind the C’s in the standings at 43-17. [Pre-registration for mobile betting](https://actionrush.com/go/fanduel-mass-pre-launch-mass-live/)in Massachusetts is live on FanDuel. The Celtics have been able to feature their starting double big lineup of Brown, Tatum, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III and Al Horford for the past two games. Jaylen Brown was listed as out on the injury report because of personal reasons.

Plus, Brian answers some mailbag questions on all four Boston teams.

Finally, Brian answers some mailbag questions on all four Boston teams (41:30). [Brian breaks down the Celtics’ win over the 76ers Saturday night](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AXn8p0xcXKw266x7Nq4sv?si=5616654fba984dd6), Derrick White versus Marcus Smart in the starting lineup, and potential playoff seeding in the East (0:30). [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).

One of sports' rarest occurrences took place Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center: a gesture of goodwill between Boston and Philadelphia.

Doc Rivers addresses the bench unit after the Philadelphia 76ers fall to the Boston Celtics at home.