While the 76ers never got that far ahead, this is their second loss at home in the series and they seemingly had seized momentum in the fourth quarter. Tatum buried one three for the 84-83 lead and a second that made it 87-83 and put the Celtics in firm control of Game 6.Įmbiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 26 points for the 76ers.ħ6ers coach Doc Rivers has blown three 3-1 series leads over his playoff career. Tyrese Maxey hit two free throws with 5:25 left for an 83-81 edge. 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. He missed 14 of his first 15 shots overall from the floor and his ineffectiveness was a key reason the Celtics couldn’t hold a 16-point lead. Tatum, who averaged 30.1 points in the regular season, never stopped shooting even as the misses kept coming. 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. The defending conference champs are in familiar territory. Jayson Tatum missed his first six three-pointers before he drilled two straight clutch ones late in the game that pushed the Celtics past the Philadelphia 76ers 95-86 on Thursday night to send the Eastern Conference semi-finals back to Boston for Game 7. The home team won the first five games of the series until the Nuggets broke through in Game 6. But the three-time All-Star finished with just 12 points on Thursday. Suns guard Devin Booker was brilliant in most of the postseason, averaging 36 points per game on 60% before Game 6. The 34-year-old had some good moments in the playoffs, but made just 1 of his first 10 shots on Thursday as the Suns fell into a huge hole. Phoenix were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals at home for a second straight season despite a blockbuster trade deadline deal for Durant, a 13-time All-Star and one of the game’s most prolific scorers. Ayton sustained a rib contusion in Tuesday’s Game 5 while Paul has been out the past four games with a strained left groin. The Suns were playing without injured starters Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul. Nikola Jokic scored 32 points in another triple-double in Thursday night’s series clincher.
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