BOSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to go up 2-0 on the Boston Celtics on Wednesday when they welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup. Following an impressive Game 1 win without the big fella, most believed that the Sixers would get the job done in his return.
Instead, the Sixers went ice cold from the floor while Boston was red hot. Philadelphia shot 6-for-30 from deep while the Celtics went 20-for-51 to even the series at 1 with a 121-87 win.
As the series shifts to Philly, the Sixers are feeling confident and sure of themselves. They have the home-court advantage.
“We wanted to win both games,” said Embiid. “We felt like every single game is an opportunity to accomplish something and win the game so coming in here to Boston, we wanted to win both games, but it’s not easy. When you beat a team like that, they’re a really good team so you know they’re gonna respond at home with their fans so it’s our turn to make sure we’re locked in and everybody does their job.”
The Sixers have proven a resilient bunch all season. They will have to be so again when they host the next two games of this series.
“We’re on to the next page right now, and that’s for us to go home and be ready to get a victory on our home floor,” added Tobias Harris. “Obviously, this is not the performance we wanted in Game 2. They came out and they just took the victory from early on in the game. They just came out with that fire and that grit to win, but for us as a group, we know coming into Game 3 we need to be ready, come out with that same type of energy, and find our momentum, find our energy, find our flow out there and be able to be dominant.”
The Sixers have one day to rest and get back on track with Game 3 set for Friday. They will have to dig deep to get the job done.
“It’s about physical and mental recovery,” Harris continued. “So being able to say ‘OK, this wasn’t our game. Let’s make adjustments, let’s get ready for Game 3, and let’s get ready to have a hell of a night.’ That’s how we have to look at it. We just have to have that approach. It’s the playoffs. Obviously, we swept Round 1, then we came here and won. So a loss like this, nobody’s sitting around saying, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re supposed to go undefeated all throughout the playoffs,’ but we know we have to get back on track for Game 3.”
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