PHILADELPHIA — Celtics guard Marcus Smart had two tries to give the Celtics a 3-1 lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal against the 76ers. His first 3-point attempt, at the end of regulation, rimmed out, leading to overtime. His second, at the end of the extra session, went in, but came just after the buzzer, allowing the 76ers to escape with a 116-115 win and tie the series at 2.
James Harden had 42 points to lead the 76ers and Joel Embiid added 34. Jayson Tatum shook off a 2-point first-half and finished with 24, but turned down a pair of chances to win the game at the rim to find Smart for those shots.
It felt like the 76ers, who led by as many as 16 points, were trying to run out the clock for the entire fourth quarter, and that almost never works. Their late-clock offense ended with forced, fatigue-filled shots that went nowhere.
Philadelphia scored just 4 points over the first eight minutes of the fourth, and it appeared tense. The Celtics, meanwhile, did not. They used good ball movement to keep a tired defense off balance, and trailing 96-88, the Celtics went on a 10-0 run that was capped by an Al Horford dunk and shimmy for good measure.
Horford’s defense on Embiid throughout the fourth, meanwhile, was elite.
The Celtics took a 105-100 lead on a Malcolm Brogdon 3-pointer with 2:04 left. With the Celtics leading, 107-105, Harden hit a tough runner with 15.9 seconds to play before Tatum found Smart for a wide-open 3-pointer, but it missed.
With the Celtics leading, 112-111, with 1:49 left in the extra session, Embiid drove and had a clear lane to the hoop before Smart slid in and took a charge, wiping away a 3-point play.
After a Horford 3-pointer rattled out, Embiid was fouled and hit both free throws, giving the 76ers a 113-112 lead with 56 seconds left.
At the other end, Tatum was probably fortunate that a push-off wasn’t called when he used his forearm to create space from Tyrese Maxey and drill a 3-pointer with 37.3 seconds left.
Harden answered with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 18.2 seconds left. The Celtics elected not to call timeout. Tatum got to the rim and fired a pass to Smart — similar to the end of regulation — but his 3-pointer came just after the buzzer.
Observations from the game:
⋅ It was a miserable first half for Tatum, whose inconsistent playoffs continued. He started 0 for 8 from the field and was held scoreless until hitting a mid-range jumper in the final minute. He uses the rip-through move on drives to try to draw contact and sometimes has success with it, but when he’s struggling he seems to do it seeking bail-out calls that just don’t come.
Tatum was 5 for 5 shooting in the third quarter, all 2-point attempts.
⋅ Brown has been excellent in first quarters this season, and his hot start Sunday helped keep Boston afloat. A few minutes into the game, Celtics other than Brown were 1 for 10 from the field with three turnovers, but Boston had a 1-point lead anyway thanks to Brown, who was 5 for 6 from the field.
⋅ Brown picked up his second foul at the 8:20 mark and stayed in the game. This is usually coach Joe Mazzulla’s approach in these situations, and it didn’t cost the Celtics. The 76ers did not take advantage. On a pair of second-quarter fast-breaks, Brown pulled back to allow a basket rather than pick up his third foul and Philadelphia failed to convert each time.
⋅ In Game 3, the Celtics threw plenty of different defenses at Embiid and often threw their smaller players in the initial wave in the post. Embiid seemed more prepared for that in this game. On one first-quarter catch, for example, he attacked immediately after seeing Smart on him and converted for an easy 3-point play.
⋅ Harden poured in 45 points in his team’s surprising Game 1 win without Embiid but had struggled mightily in the last two losses, going 5 for 28 from the field combined. He was booed by the home crowd throughout Game 3 and just didn’t appear engaged in the game. But Sunday felt more like Game 1. Harden got to his spots quickly and confidently and in the first half was 8 for 11 from the field with 21 points.
⋅ Boston’s offense sputtered after Brown went to the bench later in the first quarter, as the 76ers pushed in front with a 10-0 burst. Then the Celtics had a 4-minute, 30-second scoring drought in the second quarter. If anything, it felt like the 76ers didn’t do enough to extend their lead, which sat at just 59-50 at the break after Boston scored 10 points over the final 1:13. Harden and Embiid combined for 40 first-half points while Tatum had just 2. A single-digit lead under those circumstances was stunning.
⋅ The Celtics offense was actually scorching in the third quarter. Tatum started getting to the rim and finishing, and the others followed. Boston made 13 of 18 shots (72.2 percent) in the period, with just one turnover. The problem was they simply weren’t doing enough to stop Harden and Embiid at the other end. They didn’t cut a single point off of Philadelphia’s halftime lead.
⋅ There was a lot of nervous energy in the building at the start of the fourth, and it started to swell for the 76ers. They committed three fouls in the first 52 seconds, were held scoreless for four minutes, and probably lucked out when the Celtics missed a couple of layups.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
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Instant analysis: Celtics rally in fourth quarter but come up short in overtime as 76ers win Game 4 to even series - The Boston Globe
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