PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to force overtime at home with the rival Boston Celtics after they trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter. Joel Embiid had just made two free throws to tie the game at 107 with 10.8 seconds left and it looked like the Sixers would live for another five minutes.
After Tobias Harris committed a take foul, it left the Celtics with 5.9 ticks left to go for the win. They went to their star leader to get the job done.
Jayson Tatum drilled a go-ahead 3 over De’Anthony Melton with 2.2 ticks left to give Boston a 110-107 lead. Embiid’s game-tying heave went in, but it was waved off, resulting in a Celtics win.
“Get separation and make a play,” Tatum said after the win. “I felt him leaning, snatch it back, did a move. It’s a shot that I’ve worked on 1,000 times before.”
After the shot, Tatum was smiling and he almost seemed surprised considering the shooting night he was having. However, he revealed he told teammate Grant Williams that it was game time. He was sending the Celtics home with a win on the final possession.
“I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t surprised at all,” Tatum added. “Coming out of that time out, I told Grant ‘this is game.’ I told him it’s game time. We going home. So I knew it had been a tough night, but it was a perfect story, right? Tie game with five seconds left, haven’t been shooting well, come through for the guys when you need it the most.”
JAYSON TATUM FOR THE WIN. 🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 26, 2023
As for Melton, there wasn’t much he could do. He doesn’t have the same size as Tatum, but he gave it a good contest. It was just a shot that went in and one the Sixers have to live with.
“I mean, man, he came down here, they threw him the ball, he pulled back, it’s probably a shot he works on and stuff like that,” said Melton. “I feel like just best case scenario I could do is just make it difficult for him. He hit a tough one. Sometimes, you gotta live with those.”
Overall, Tatum was shooting 4-for-12 through the first three quarters before going 3-for-5 in the final stanza. The Sixers did a good job against him in order to put themselves in position to win the game, but in the end, Philadelphia fell to 0-3 against the Celtics on the season.
“Obviously, I wasn’t playing well or shooting the ball well, but I always shoot the ball with confidence,” Tatum finished. “I believe that the next one is going in no matter what. Shoot the right shot. If you miss five in a row and the next one, you’re wide open, you gotta shoot it.”
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=]
[lawrence-related id=75987,75981,75976]