PHILADELPHIA – Jayson Tatum humbly believes he is one of the best basketball players in the NBA and not even a lengthy streak of missed shots in a win-or-else Game 6 could shake his faith.
Sometimes, though, a pep talk in the heat of the moment lifts even the most confident stars. Boston rookie coach Joe Mazzulla pulled the forward aside in a late timeout and didn't draw a play or tell Tatum to keep shooting and soon the buckets would fall.
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His message was more simple.
“I love you,” Mazzulla told Tatum. “That's a pretty powerful statement.”
Tatum rewarded his coach's love with decisive 3-pointers straight through the heart of a Philadelphia comeback that pushed the Celtics past the 76ers 95-86 on Thursday night to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7.
“I kept looking at the time,” Tatum said. “I've got time, I've got time to make a difference. I believed that the whole time.”
Tatum buried one 3 for the 84-83 lead and a second that made it 87-83 and put the Celtics in firm control in front of a boisterous Philly crowd. Tatum stuck it to the 76ers with one final 3-pointer for a 95-84 lead.
The defending conference champs are in familiar territory. Boston trailed 3-2 last season in the second round against Milwaukee before it won Game 6 on the road and the clincher at home.
Game 7 is Sunday. The winner of the Miami-New York semifinal awaits the Celtics or 76ers.
Tatum, who averaged 30.1 points in the regular season, kept his confidence high. He missed 14 of his first 15 shots overall from the floor — and his first six 3s — and his 3 1/2-quarter ineffectiveness was a key reason the Celtics squandered a 16-point lead.
He was grateful Mazzulla stuck by him.
“I told him a lot of times, ‘I got your back. We’re in this together,’” Tatum said. “I love the relationship that me and Joe have.”
With a shot at their first conference final since 2001 at stake, the Sixers slogged through the first half before Joel Embiid flashed his MVP form and rallied the Sixers to a fourth-quarter lead.
Tyrese Maxey hit two free throws with 5:25 left for an 83-81 edge.
And that was it for Philly in yet another postseason home crusher.
“If I have to go to war, Game 7 in Boston, I would want to go with this group,” Maxey said. “I know we've got some fighters, I know we've got some resilient guys. I'm ready to get it on.”
Embiid and Maxey each scored 26 points for the 76ers.
76ers coach Doc Rivers has blown three 3-1 series leads over his playoff career. While the 76ers only led 3-2, this is their second loss at home in the series.
And confronting more ominous history looms for Rivers. The 2008 NBA championship coach with Boston, Rivers has lost nine times in a Game 7, four more than any other head coach.
The Sixers unraveled in the fourth after a rally in the third — keyed by two pivotal 3s by Georges Niang — and after Embiid’s pull-up jumper tied it 81-all, the 76ers didn’t make a bucket over the final 6:13 of the game.
The Sixers could not close in the close-out quarter and missed 15 of 20 shots and all eight 3s in the decisive fourth.
“We stopped moving the ball,” Embiid said. “I don't think I touched the ball the last 4 minutes of the game. Missed a lot of good looks. I didn't touch the ball, though.”
Tatum missed all 10 shots, including five 3-point attempts, in the first half half as the Celtics led by seven. Tatum has said he may need surgery on his left wrist in the offseason in the wake of a hard fall. Whatever the cause of his shooting ails, he found the cure in the final 12 minutes and the East champs still have life.
Tatum finished with 19 points on just 5-for-21 shooting but the final stat line mattered little after he keyed the 14-3 run that turned the game in their favor.
Marcus Smart scored 22 points and Jaylen Brown had 17 for the Celtics.
“There's no reason for us to be stressed out,” Smart said.
The Celtics sure weren't from the tip. Just like Game 3 when the Sixers squandered the momentum off Embiid’s MVP ceremony, they let Boston race to fast double-digit lead that sapped the energy in Philly.
The Celtics led 40-26 because -- in part because of three 3s from Malcolm Brogdon -- but an ineffective half from Embiid, James Harden and Tobias Harris. Embiid and Harris started 1 of 7 and Harden 2 of 8 and yet, the deficit could have been much worse.
The 76ers' trio never completely got of their funk. Tatum did and now the series comes down to the final 48 minutes.
HE SAID IT
“I’m ready for war.” -- Mazzulla, with a stern look, on his mood ahead of Game 6.
BIG FANS
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, Roots drummer Questlove, Eagles center Jason Kelce and his brother and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, and baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. attended the game.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Boston started 6-foot-10 Robert Williams instead of Derrick White. ... Brown said he tweaked a knee after he slipped on a wet spot on the court.
76ers: Harden finished 4 for 16, 0 for 6 behind the arc.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports