Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum just did it again: Inside a defining Game 3 Celtics win

PHILADELPHIA — A few feet behind my press row seat, a Philadelphia 76ers fan donning a vintage Allen Iverson jersey turned to his friend.

“This time, we’re going to pull it off.”

The score was 85-84 in favor of the Celtics with just under 9 minutes to play in Game 3, but inside Xfinity Mobile Arena, it felt like the tides were turning after Tyrese Maxey hit another three-pointer — his second consecutive, unanswered jumper, which evoked shades of his big fourth quarter in the 76ers’ Game 2 victory.

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The Celtics called a timeout, and for a moment, as 76ers fans rejoiced, it felt like time stood still.

It’s in those moments that, as a writer, the story typically begins to unfold in my head.

Teams that win Game 3 end up winning around 80% of NBA playoff series.

Philadelphia looks really, really confident.

And finally, the most overarching thought:

Was this really how such a special Celtics season was going to end?

But, although I had already visualized a 76ers win, Maxey never scored again. The Celtics’ championship pedigree and undying belief in one another powered them to their most crucial victory of the year.

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“I liked the mindset that we had, the competitiveness, the togetherness,” said Joe Mazzulla after the 108-100 win. “I thought there was great communication, great body language, great togetherness – just things that can help you get through stuff.”

Jaylen Brown checked into the game with 8 minutes to play

Brown, like most of the Celtics’ top performers, was in the midst of a night that came with plenty of highs and plenty of lows when he came back into the game to close out the fourth quarter. He had already turned the ball over 5 times — two of which came on offensive fouls.

But, with the season seemingly on the line, he delivered.

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It started with a defensive play; he stole the ball from Maxey to find a streaking Derrick White, who laid it in to give the Celtics a 3-point lead with 7 minutes to spare.

Then he took over offensively; from the 6:10 mark in the fourth quarter to the 2:39 mark, Brown was the only Celtic to make a basket for Boston.