Despite blowing 3-1 lead after standout regular season, the Celtics remain unfazed: ‘We stick to the process’

BOSTON — As a crowd of Philadelphia faithful gathered in a corner of TD Garden, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey emerged from the tunnel to celebrate with their fans following a stunning comeback from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the favored Celtics.

“We want Boston,” Philly fans chanted.

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The phrase became a battle cry for both fanbases. Philadelphians chanted it when their team captured the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed, earning the chance to play the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Bostonians responded when their C’s jumped out to an early lead in the series. But the City of Brotherly Love got the last laugh, chanting it in an arena that had emptied out after a 109-100 Celtics loss in Game 7.

Meanwhile, in Boston’s locker room, the Celtics could have hung their heads low. On 32 previous occasions the franchise had taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven set, and 32 times the Celtics had won. Not this time. But they took the defeat in solemn stride.

“Great season,” said Boston’s Jaylen Brown. “Obviously, it didn’t finish the way we would’ve liked. I give credit to Philadelphia. I watched them get better as the series went on. But just for our guys to come out in a Game 7 and play with that level of intensity and trust, that’s the style we felt like we’ve been doing all year, and I loved it.”

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After all, they discovered an hour before Game 7 that Jayson Tatum would not play. He was ruled out with left knee stiffness. It was the first game he missed due to injury since his own miraculous comeback from a ruptured right Achilles tendon last May.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla employed a starting lineup he had not played all season, resting Boston’s chances on Brown, Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. It did not go well, as the Sixers jumped out to a 30-15 advantage through the game’s first 10 minutes. What had worked for the Celtics in the regular season — getting contributions from all across the roster — failed them on the playoff stage.

“We had faith in everyone that played tonight,” said Celtics guard Payton…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/despite-blowing-3-1-lead-after-standout-regular-season-the-celtics-remain-unfazed-we-stick-to-the-process-054019829.html

Author : Ben Rohrbach

Publish date : 2026-05-03 05:40:00

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