NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
Game 1 had been a Boston blowout. Game 2 had featured a barrage by the Sixers’ bumptious backcourt. But Friday’s Game 3? That looked and felt like playoff games often tend to look and feel, especially those between ancient rivals like Boston and Philadelphia.
It was a night that saw Sixers forward Paul George take a single shot in the first quarter, then take a different sort of shot to his, uh, lower abdomen while defending Jaylen Brown in the second. It was a night that saw Boston center Neemias Queta, who’s from Portugal (via Utah State), frequently grapple with his Sixers counterpart, Adem Bona, who’s from Nigeria (via UCLA). Bona fouled out in a little over 22 minutes, while Queta fouled four times in not quite 13.
Advertisement
It was also a night that saw Queta — would he be a Portuguese Man o’ War? — bear hug the Sixers’ other center, Andre Drummond, as they battled for position in the third quarter. That compelled Drummond to elbow him in the chin and the officials to scurry to the replay monitor, intent on determining whether the veteran was guilty of a “hostile act.” Drummond was assessed a technical foul.
There was plenty of jostling on the scoreboard, too. The Celtics led by 10 a couple times, and were still ahead by five after three quarters. Then Tyrese Maxey started cooking, and suddenly the home team was up by a point with 8:42 left in the game. Boston responded with an 8-0 flurry to make it 92-85, but there was still half a quarter to play, still plenty of time for the combatants to exchange more body blows.
Six times in the last 4:15, the Sixers made it a one-possession game, but every time Boston had an answer. That the C’s ultimately emerged with a 108-100 victory and a 2-1 series lead is a tribute to their championship pedigree. They won a title two years ago, and stand a decent chance of at least getting to the Finals this season as well.
That’s because they have two cornerstones in Brown and Jayson Tatum, a capable supporting cast and an understanding of what it takes to win this time of year — of just how slight the difference is between victory and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/little-things-loom-large-sixers-134212937.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-04-25 13:42:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
