Tag: orlando bubble

WATCH: Jaylen Brown’s best of Celtics – Sixers Game 3, Round 1

Watch the best of Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown in Game 3 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday in this video.

Boston Celtics star shooting guard Jaylen Brown continued to carry his team over critical stretches of their Game 3 tilt with the Philadelphia 76ers, putting the Celtics in a position to sweep a team that beat them three out of four times in the regular season.

The 102 – 94 win wasn’t the blowout that was Game 2 with the Sixers actually showing up to play this time.

But, even their best shot to date wasn’t enough to steal the neutral-court win for themselves, in no small part due to Brown’s efforts.

The Georgia native scored 21 points and 7 rebounds despite having a bit of an off shooting night while helping fend off multiple attempts by the Sixers to take or build a lead with his usual stalwart defense.

After the game, Brown remained focus on putting away the Sixers in Game 4 on Sunday, which will be an early one with a 1 p.m. start time.

Until then, if you want to see the Cal-Berkeley product create havoc among the Sixers, watch the video embedded above for all of Brown’s best Game 3 moments.

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WATCH: Celtics 102 – Sixers 94 full Game 3 Round 1 highlights

The Boston Celtics took a commanding 3-0 series lead with their 102-94 win on Friday, putting themselves in position to sweep the Sixers Sunday.

The Boston Celtics took the Philadelphia 76ers’ best shot so far in their first-round series in the 2020 Eastern Conference Playoffs, and came away with a 102 – 94 win as the Celtics put themselves one game away from advancing to the second round.

The Sixers showed more fight in this game than in any previous contests, but Boston took it on the chin. Point guard Kemba Walker put up a team-high 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while shooting guard Jaylen Brown put up 21 points and 7 boards.

All-Star swingman Jayson Tatum got into foul trouble early, but still managed to score 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks, including a few key ones late.

Guard Marcus Smart added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals, and the bench was solid all around with 20 total points.

Game 4 is an early one on Sunday afternoon, and the Celtics are gearing up to send the Sixers home with a sweep. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take one last look back at this game with the video embedded above.

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Boston Celtics take Sixers best, come away with 102-94 Game 3 win

Despite their best effort yet against the Boston Celtics, a flailing Philadelphia 76ers franchise simply didn’t have the horses to put their Atlantic Division rivals away.

The Boston Celtics showed up ready to put the Philadelphia 76ers away in Game 3 of their first-round series, winning the tip and scoring first via shooting guard Jaylen Brown, a look of determination unmistakable on their faces.

Brown would follow that up with a telegraph-passed dunk from point guard  Kemba Walker, but old friend Al Horford got the Sixers on the board with an early trip to the line. The Cal-Berkeley product bought his own trip to the line on a 3-point shot, very aggressive early.

Boston kept the pressure on, jumping out to a 9-4 lead, but Joel Embiid got himself to the line several times, cutting the lead to as low as two points. Forward Jayson Tatum and Walker began to heat up from the perimeter however, pushing the lead back to 17-10 with just under seven minutes left in the frame.

A Romeo Langford slam and another Walker trey pushed the lead to nine. Defensive lapses and an Embiid 3 cut the lead to 24-18. Horford and Tobias Harris getting to the line would cut the lead to two. Tatum picked up his third foul in the final seconds of of the first, with the Celtics taking a 26-24 lead into the second.

The second quarter started with Embiid draining an elbow jumper in Enes Kanter’s face to tie it up at 26, and Marcus Smart collided hard with Embiid on a screen. The disastrous sequence continued as Brad Wanamaker traveled, and Alec Burks gave the Sixers their first lead with a jumper.

Kanter answered right back to tie it again, and then did it again on the next play to retake the lead. The two teams traded blows until the Celtics started to get some separation with a trip for Wanamaker to the line to put the score at 41-36 Boston with six minutes left in the frame.

Center Daniel Theis took a head hit from Embiid, but Brown would hit back with a trey, but one in return from Josh Richardson and a Horford layup cut the lead to three. A Brown transition jam pushed the lead to 51-46, but an Embiid and-1 cut the lead to two going into the break.

The Celtics started the penultimate frame with a jumper from Smart, but Shake Milton got himself to the line, converting both. The two teams went back and forth, Richardson cutting it to one from the line, and Embiid taking the lead from the stripe as well on the next play.

Walker took it right back with a jumper, hitting a trey on the next play, pushing the lead to 63-56. The Sixers fought back though, with Harris tying it up at 63 from the charity stripe, Philly showing as much fight as they have at any point in the series.

Grant Williams went on a 5-0 mini-run to put Boston up 72-65. Philadelphia tried to dig out of their hole several times, but the Celtics kept the pressure on and took their lead into the fourth quarter, up 76-72.

The final frame went scoreless until Burks hit with 10:15 left to play, but Walker answered back. Milton tied it up at 78, but Theis pushed the lead to 5 with a jumper, forcing Matisse Thybulle to travel on the other end. Tatum attacked the rookie, scoring with ease and forcing a Philly timeout.

They came out hard, with a 3-point play from Richardson followed by a tip-in and trey from Milton cut the lead to just 1 with six minutes left to play. Brown came back with a soft-touch layup, but Milton took a 90-89 lead for the Sixers with 4:30 left in the game. The Cal-Berkeley product got himself to the line on a 3-pointer, converting them all to wrest back the lead.

A pair of quick, questionable fouls on Theis got the Sixers back in a 92-up tie with Boston, with Philly forcing a shot-clock violation and taking the lead from the stripe. Brown missed an open 3 from the top of the key, but was fouled on the next possession as he laid it up, putting the Celtics up 95-94.

Tatum was fouled on the following play with a disputed clear-path foul to put Boston up two. A signature Walker step-back and a Smart trip to the line sealed the game for the Celtics, a 102-94 win.

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Previewing Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers Game 3 Round 1

The Boston Celtics look to take a three-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their East Playoffs first-round series.

Game 3 of the Boston Celtics first round series with the Philadelphia 76ers begins at 6:30 pm Eastern Time this Friday, August 21st as the Sixers do their best to avoid falling into a 3 – 0 hole in the series.

In both of the first two meetings of the series, Philly came on strong early, but puttered out in the second half as 76ers center Joel Embiid’s conditioning and Philadelphia coach Brett Brown’s questionable commitment to his schema combined to hand the Sixers a loss.

Both teams return the same players, with Boston veteran forward Gordon Hayward and Philly forward Ben Simmons to miss the game with injuries to their lower extremities and Sixers wing Glenn Robinson III likely out with a hip pointer.

Philadelphia has struggled to find a high-level starting lineup that’s consistent all season, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be pulling that rabbit out of a hat for this contest, either.

But don’t be surprised to see some radical moves designed to maximize perimeter defense and save Embiid’s energy for later in the game.

Philly has little to lose at this point.

Conversely, a lackadaisical effort on the Celtics’ end could be in the works if Boston, as it sometimes does, believes the predictions of their victory a little more than they should — and despite their woes, that’s an easy win for the 76ers.

Based on what we’ve seen and heard so far however, we expect the Celtics to show up to play and the Sixers to at least make a game of this one, Boston winning a much closer 111-103 contest.

Most online bookmakers tend to agree, granting the Celtics a -4.5 spread.

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Kemba Walker pleased with Celts’ win, still wary of Sixers in Game 3

Starting Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker was pleased with his teammates’ play vs the Sixers, but still wary of them in Game 3.

The success of the Boston Celtics’ bench in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers was not too much of a surprise for starting point guard Kemba Walker, who lauded his teammates after their 128 – 101 demolition of the Sixers Wednesday night.

“We’ve always had confidence in our bench,” offered the UConn product. “Tonight, they really came out and showed the world that well they’re really good.”

“Those guys, whenever their name is called, they’re always ready,” he added. “Grant [Williams], Romeo [Langford], two of our rookies were unbelievable tonight.

“Brad Wanamaker, who is one of our leaders, who’s been there for us all year, holding it down on the bench, he was tremendous. he might not post a lot of points or anything like, that but his leadership right out there, on the court — he was great. Those guys came in, they stepped up and Enes [Kanter], he was great as well.”

Asked about his seeming ability to get his shot off against Philly, Walker seemed to grin a bit under his mask as his eyes wrinkled in the corners; “It’s different — it’s different for me; I haven’t seen that kind of space in a very long time, to be honest.”

The New Yorker doesn’t think that the Celtics have the series sewed up quite yet, though — in fact, he preached vigilance for himself and his teammates.

“It really doesn’t matter, you know, we’re going to come out and play hard regardless. The next game is really important and these guys have no quit in them and one of the best players in the world, some other great talent so, you’ve got to be prepared.”

“You have to stay locked in, and ready to go,” he added.

While it’s not unheard of for teams to come back after dropping the first two games of a seven-game series, it’s certainly the exception rather than the rule.

And with the look on the faces of their Atlantic Division rivals late in the third quarter onwards, it’d be easy to relax in Game 3.

But the Connecticut product is correct in his assessment that now is the time to lean into the fight, and put the Sixers in a near-insurmountable three-game hole on Friday.

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WATCH: Boston’s Kemba Walker Celtics – Sixers Game 2 highlights

Watch all of the best of All-Star point guard Kemba Walker in his Game 2 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night.

You would never know the media were fretting over his knee by watching the UConn product attacking on Wednesday night.

Boston Celtics All-Star point guard reminded us he can make life very difficult for opponents in Game 2 of the 2020 Eastern Conference playoff series between the Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, helping Boston blow out their Atlantic Division rivals 128 – 101.

The Bronx native scored 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the lopsided contest while shooting 8-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line, draining some key buckets early when the Sixers threatened to have a blowout of their own.

Walker wasn’t rattled — nor slowed by his sometimes-balky knee — putting in his best postseason performance with the Celtics yet.

With the loss of veteran forward Gordon Hayward for at least four weeks, Boston will need the New Yorker’s production more than ever, but after nights like Wednesday’s, it’s looking like the team is in better shape than some had feared.

Watch the video embedded above for all of the best of Kemba Walker’s best plays from Game 2.

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WATCH: Boston’s Jayson Tatum Sixers – Celtics Game 2 highlights

Watch all of Boston Celtics swingman Jayson Tatum’s best plays from their Game 2 blowout win over the Sixers on Wednesday night.

Boston Celtics All-Star small forward Jayson Tatum continued to terrorize his opponents with his preternatural basketball abilities yet again on Wednesday night as the Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in a 128 – 101 blowout win in Game 2 of their 2020 Eastern Conference first round playoff series.

The Duke product was an absolute problem on both ends of the floor for the Sixers, putting up 33 points, 5 rebounds and as many assists while shooting a sizzling 12-for-20 from the floor and an absurd 8-of-12 from beyond the arc.

There isn’t very much an opposing team can do when Tatum is in his bag, and he was so much against Philly that he could have been mistaken for Santa Claus Wednesday night.

The St. Louis native has been instrumental in making life difficult for the Sixers in this series so far, and he has been critical to putting the Celtics within two games of a sweep of the same team that beat them in three of four regular-season meetings.

To see all of his best plays from Game 2 on Wednesday night, watch the video embedded above.

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Celtics coach Stevens praised bench, stars in Sixers G2 blowout

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was quick to praise his bench as much as his stars in Wednesdays blowout win of the Sixers.

After Wednesday night’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers, a lot of attention was rightfully focused on the job the Boston Celtics’ stars did to secure the win in injured veteran forward Gordon Hayward’s absence, but the Celtics coach made a point of praising his bench for the win as well.

“All three of those guys [Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown] made shots, and did a lot of tough things,” he explained.

“I thought the difference tonight though was our bench really took a game that was not going our way and changed it. So, those guys did what they do. And we need them to keep doing what they do, and they’re great at it but I think it’s appropriate to really give credit to them and our bench, as our bench was really good tonight.”

In fact, after the Celtics struggled early and the Sixers seemed unable to miss in the first quarter, it was the energy off of the bench that really seemed to turn the tide back Boston’s way.

Stevens agreed.

“Our whole disposition changed, I thought, when we went to the bench, and I just thought it was much tougher,” he noted, “as far as every possession was more challenged.”

“We didn’t start the game well, and they started. great, they made every shot — credit them for that. But I just thought that from that point on, I’ve never would have thought we would have stayed … with that group in the second quarter that long, and to their credit, I couldn’t take them out. They were playing great together, [and] turned the game around for us.”

“We’re going to need everybody; we talked about that with Gordon out. I’m not going to replace him with one person; we’ll replace him by committee, and tonight guys did a good job of that,” he added.

And while veterans like Enes Kanter and Brad Wanamaker continued to play roles off of the bench, the emergence of rookies Grant Williams and Romeo Langford in Hayward’s absence is reason for celebration.

Competent minutes on the floor on the wing will be desperately needed by Boston while he heals if the Celtics are to make a deep run.

“Grant’s couple of threes are big in that group,” offered Stevens, “Kanter had a huge 3 at the end of the shot clock, but also tons of rebounds and played well, and Romeo just did his job.

“Romeo is really improved in that regard. So I think that I credit all of them, because when you’re playing around really good scorers, you just need to play your role really well, and be a superstar in your role. I thought that they did that tonight.”

“We’re going to need to do that again, two wins in a playoff series doesn’t mean a whole lot,” he added.

Hopefully, the Celtics are listening to Stevens on this last point and keep their foot on the gas pedal going forward to make a short series of it with the Sixers.

While they are absolutely reeling after two winnable losses slipping through their fingers in two games, they are not out, and could come back and do some damage if Boston allows them to.

But with performances like we’ve seen from the stars and especially the bench so far in this series, the ceiling is as high as their health and effort will take them.

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Former Warrior Alec Burks records 16 minutes off the bench in Sixers’ loss to Celtics in Game 2

As the Celtics jumped to a 2-0 series lead against the Sixers, Former Warrior Alec Burks struggled with only two points in 16 minutes.

Disney World isn’t the only difference in the 2020 edition of the NBA Playoffs.

For the first time since 2012, the Golden State Warriors didn’t punch a ticket to the postseason dance. With the league’s worst record at 15-50, the Warriors were the first team eliminated from playoff contention.

While the current Golden State roster is at home, former members of the Warriors are on the floor in the Orlando Bubble. With no postseason hoops in the Bay Area, Warriors Wire is checking in on ex-members of the Dubs at Disney World.

As the second wave of games tipoff in the opening round of the playoffs, one former Warrior suited up for the Philadelphia 76ers. In game two of the Sixers Eastern Conference playoff matchup with the Boston Celtics, Alec Burks logged 16 minutes off the bench.

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With an extended bench that included Raul Neto in game two, the former veteran wing’s playing time dipped to 16 minutes. Prior to game two, Burks has played at least 20 minutes or more in four of his last five contests.

Against the Celtics, Burks tallied only two points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field. The former Golden State wing added three boards and two assists. Burks’ pair of points was his lowest scoring total in his past 18 games.

While Burks struggled, the other side of the court thrived. Behind 33 points from Jayson Tatum, the Celtics sealed a 2-0 playoff lead against the Sixers with a blowout win, 128-101.

Watch highlights from Celtics-76ers Game 2 tilt via YouTube:

Burks and the 76ers will be on the court on Friday as they try to stop the Celtics from taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

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Previewing Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers Game 2 Round 1

The Boston Celtics will be on a much more even playing field with the loss of Gordon Hayward in this series — but will it be enough for a Sixers win?

If you thought Game 1 of the first round series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers was physical, just wait until Game 2.

After losing veteran forward Gordon Hayward to a severe ankle sprain in Game 1, the Philadelphia 76ers will look to even the series 1-1 with the Celtics’ rotations having fewer potential answers to how they approach dealing with the force of nature that is 76ers center Joel Embiid.

How Boston chooses to replace that loss may also dictate the response from Philly, who could stick with the same approach as last game if a wing or forward is added to the starting lineup for Boston to replace Hayward’s minutes.

It could also see them move Al Horford to the bench if Marcus Smart is deemed the more likely replacement in the starting lineup.

Whatever response we see from Philadelphia, it will be designed with capitalizing on the loss of shooting and versatility missing the Butler product presents, as well as ball-handling, to a lesser extent.

While Boston is used to losing Hayward for stretches, a hungry Sixers squad and more minutes for Marcus Smart introduces the same variance that plagues the Texan guard’s shooting, meaning a bad night on his end could make for an easy Philly win.

Then again perhaps not, given the Celtics have rarely shot the 3-ball worse than they did in Game 1, where they shot an abysmal 32.2 % from deep as a team.

Theis will connect more often, and almost certainly Smart also, who went 0-for-3 from deep and 0-from-5 overall, and while having Hayward — and especially Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — certainly saved the game, it seems unlikely Boston will have more than one more game shooting so poorly in this series, if that.

Another factor that could prove critical is Kemba Walker, who, despite 19 points and 5 assists, went 0-for-5 from deep, and more from the yips than any kind of lift or burst issue with his knee, which looked fine.

On the injury front, both teams have significantly important players out now with Hayward joining Philly’s Ben Simmons (knee) as a scratch for this series and likely the one after, should either advance.

The Celtics dodged a bullet after a hip pointer from Embiid impeded Brown’s ability to play late in Game 1, with the possibility of the injury tightening up ahead of Game 2.

The Georgia native is listed as probable for today’s contest, though Sixers guard Glenn Robinson III is out, oddly enough with a very similar injury — an oblique muscle strain.

If Philly is going to make this a series, this game is a must-win for them, and that increased importance and Hayward’s loss is reflected in the spread being granted Boston by most online bookmakers, now just -4.5 in most cases.

Our prediction is Boston still comes away with the win, this one a high-scoring nail-biter — 121-119 Celtics.

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