The thing about winning a playoff game on the road is that it’s never one thing. On Saturday night, when the Celtics beat the Sixers 101-98 in Philadelphia, there were clutch shots and inexplicable turnovers, brilliant defensive stands and lots and lots of confetti.
In the end there was Al Horford, sealing Robert Covington in the post after a perfect lob pass via Marcus Morris from one of the toughest places to throw a perfect lob pass to the post. The finish wasn’t easy either. Horford contorted his body from one side of the rim to the other, but after his shot rattled around it dropped through as clear as day.
“That man Brad Stevens is a guru,” Morris said. “He might have the best out-of-bounds plays I’ve ever seen. He called the switch and knew it was going to happen.”
And just like that, the Celtics had a 3-0 lead in a series that no one save their most ardent supporters had them favored to win. These Celtics have something special working right now.
“No team is more built for having a disappointing end in regulation and then turning it around and winning it,” Stevens said. “I’ve never been around a group of guys, and I’ve been around some really special ones, that can just turn the page and play the next play the right way. It is a unique group in that regard.”
The closest Celtic parallel might be the 2010 team that reeled off six straight wins between the conference semifinal and final before taking the Lakers to seven games. That team was loaded with future Hall of Famers, its age buttressed by decades of experience. This one is missing two All-Stars and learning just how good it can be.
The Sixers can lament another one that got away and the next few days will be filled with second-guesses and pointed questions. Ben Simmons, especially, had one of the least impactful 16-8-8 games you’ll ever see.
Truthfully, they deserve every ounce of the scrutiny. That’s part of the deal when you get to this level and they had best get used to it because they should be in this position for years and years to come.
“Last thing I want to do is lean on youth,” Brett Brown said. “I don’t want to do that. I give credit to the Boston Celtics. They played in the Eastern Conference championship last year with a handful of the players that they have. We are navigating through this. This isn’t an entirely a youthful thing at all. Nobody write that.”
Nobody should, honestly. For all the talk of the 76ers learning how to play in this environment, let’s not forget that the game’s leading scorer was Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ 20-year-old rookie.
Tatum scored inside and out. He attacked off the dribble and finished like Plastic Man around the rim. His game hasn’t even blossomed fully yet, and he’s putting up numbers that require detailed searches through basketball-reference for historical comparisons.
“Man, he’s special,” Morris said. “We’ve been saying that all year. That dude is special. He comes through in the clutch. He has no fear. He’s playing big time basketball.”
Let’s also not forget that Terry Rozier, who was thrust into a starting role late in the season, has played 117 minutes in this series and committed just two turnovers. Or that 21-year-old Jaylen Brown contributed 16 points and nine rebounds while dealing with a hamstring injury.
“We’re a young group,” Rozier said. “We know all we’ve got is each other with the exception of Al—not saying he’s old, but he’s our vet. We just stick together, come together and we get the job done.”
Ah yes, old man Al. After Marco Belinelli buried a corner jumper at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and all that premature confetti rained down on the court -- a fitting metaphor if ever there was one -- Horford gathered the team together and reminded them to stay in the moment.
That was it. No big speech, no expletive-filled exhortations. Just stay in the moment.
“He’s a stabilizer for our group, no question about it,” Stevens said. “When things get going poorly, everybody just kind of looks to Al. Including coaches, we all just kind of stare at Al and wait for him to say something. And then when he says something, we all feel better and take a deep breath and maybe we can go into overtime and win this thing. He’s unbelievable.”
Horford had just two points through the first three quarters. His attention and his services were needed elsewhere. When he wasn’t flustering Simmons, he was battling with Joel Embiid in the post. Defense has been Horford’s calling card all season and his ability to guard both of the Sixers’ young stars has been the key difference maker in this series.
On offense, he drew Embiid out of the paint and cleared the runway for Tatum and Rozier to attack the basket. That’s the essence of unselfish Al who might be the only star player in the league who doesn’t give a damn about his numbers. Down the stretch and in overtime, it was Horford who they leaned on and it was Horford who delivered.
“He makes the game so much easier,” said Rozier, and that’s about the best compliment anyone has ever given Horford.
After all that, the Celtics have a 3-0 series lead and a chance to close it out on Monday. Not even Brad Stevens could draw up a scenario this good for his team.