Celtics Poop Their Basketball Shorts, Sixers Win Game 6 82-75 Going Away

Pathetic, embarrassing, putrid, depressing, these are just a few choice words to describe the Celtics' performance in tonight's Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center against the Sixers.



Philadelphia won 82-75 in one of the ugliest basketball games I've ever seen and this is coming from someone that used to cover Division 4 (the smallest) high school girls basketball in Massachusetts for a living. The Sixers forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday (time TBA) at TD Garden against the banged up Celtics, who are suddenly reeling and looking quite vulnerable.



The C's fell to a dismal 2-11 in close out games on the road in the Big 3 era, they are also 2-4 on the road this postseason. Looking for some positive numbers? Boston is 17-4 all-time in Game 7's at home and 20-7 overall in Game 7's. Neither team has won consecutive games so far in this series.



Avery Bradley missed Game 6 and he's reportedly done for the playoffs with his dislocated shoulder. This meant that Ray Allen had to play a big role but he was held to nine points in 26 minutes since he was saddled with four fouls. It's probably a combination of his ankle woes and age but Allen looks over the hill in this series.



It's not like the Sixers played great, they missed 11 free throws and gave up 11 more rebounds (48-37) including seven more offensive boards (14-7) but their youthful athleticism and variety of scoring options is what helped them succeed. Eight more assists (22-14) and Boston's 17 turnovers leading to 19 points helped their cause as well. Finally, who could forget Philly's 42-16 edge in points in the paint?



Philly had five players in double figures led by Jrue Holiday (20 points, 6 assists), who is not scared of the moment. Elton Brand put up 13 points and 10 rebounds while Evan Turner (9 rebounds) and Andre Iguodala (6 rebounds) each scored 12 points. Lou Williams notched 11 points and six assists off the bench and Spencer Hawes tossed in nine points.



The Celtics shot a horrid 33.3% for the game and had a season-low 14 assists. Paul Pierce (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (20 points, 11 rebounds) might as well have been the only Boston players that showed up. Rajon Rondo (9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) was held to his lowest assist total in 36 games. Brandon Bass (2 for 12) came back down to Earth with a thud after a career-high 27 points in Game 5, he was limited to just eight points.



The most frustrating part (besides Rondo) was KG's unwillingness to attack the paint/basket. All 20 of his shots were from outside the paint, showing that his bully reputation might be warranted. Moreover, this loss is further evidence that the Celtics are front-runners, particularly if they take care of business on Saturday like we think they will.



With the way this one unfolded, it's hard to believe that one of these teams will be in the Eastern Conference Finals and only eight wins away from an NBA title. This game was more suited for November or better yet, the preseason.



Philly led 22-19 after the first quarter but Boston went ahead with a 17-11 second quarter, haha really. Mickael Pietrus made a 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer for a 36-33 Celtics advantage. As Sixers head coach Doug Collins has stressed, the third quarter has been the key frame in this series. The team that has controlled that has generally won the games. No surprise then that Philadelphia surged in front with a 27-20 third. KG made some shots in the fourth but he couldn't save Boston by himself as the Sixers put it out of reach 22-19.



The best thing for all of us is two days off between Game 6 and 7. This series has been nothing close to well played despite the fact that they have alternated wins from Games 1-6. Eastern Conference basketball is worlds away from what we expect during the Western Conference Finals (Spurs vs. Thunder) in terms of level of play, style and offense.



This being the NBA, you know that the Celtics will get more foul shots (the Sixers had 5 more tonight) in Game 7 which is good news for them. The question is if they can squeeze anything out of Allen, Rondo and anybody else not named Kevin or Paul. The C's looked like a poor imitation of the Heat in Game 6 with two players basically doing everything. Holiday is better than I expected but there's no way that Rondo should lose that battle, especially to that degree.



To tide us over, we will be forced to watch Heat-Pacers Game 6 tomorrow night and hope that Indiana can stave off elimination. The Big 3 is 3-2 all-time in Game 7's although they lost the last two (Game 7 vs. Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals and Game 7 vs. Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals). I'm not saying it can't happen (that would be silly) but I hate to think that the Big 3 go out like this, on the Garden parquet against a No. 8 seed with a chance to go the Eastern Conference Finals against a team they can beat (regardless of who wins that series).



UPDATE 5/25: Bradley had surgery on his shoulder today so he's done for the playoffs. That is a big loss for the C's since he's been their best on ball defender by far and he started 10 games before his shoulder was repeatedly dislocated. Get well soon Avery! He has a bright future for the Green.



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The Celtics Could Write A Manual On How To Not Close Out Series/Opponents In The Playoffs

I'm fairly certain as long as you live (and watch NBA basketball), you'll never see another game like the one between the Celtics and Sixers that we all witnessed this evening.



Boston opened Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on a 14-0 run. They parlayed that into a 46-31 halftime lead and increased it to as much as 18 (49-31) early in the third quarter. From there, the Celtics proceeded to gag it away until it turned into an unforgivable 92-83 loss.



It is not hyperbole to say that it was one of the worst losses (in terms of leads) in franchise history; Boston tied its record for biggest halftime lead blown in a playoff game so there's that.



So how does a team seemingly in complete control of a game and on the verge of taking over the series, fall apart in such epic fashion? The easiest explanation is that Boston's foul trouble caught up to them as Brandon Bass (15 points) and Avery Bradley (8 points) each picked up four fouls by the third quarter so they had to sit for long stretches.



Using the spirit of their superb head coach-Doug Collins-the Sixers are too young to give up even in a game that seems doomed like this one. They kept fighting, going to the basket and taking advantage of Boston's 17 turnovers which they turned into fastbreak points (27-13).



Any Celtics fan will rightfully complain about the free throw disparity: Boston shot 16 of 19 while Philadelphia was 25 of 36 but I can't pin the loss solely on that shady number and simply some homecooking NBA referees. Because to do so would mean that the C's deserved to win Game 4 and they most certainly did not since they peed down their leg Miami Heat style in the second half (37 points).



Big picture, I am still confident that Boston will win this series but this loss is troubling in that it mirrors their failure in the first round (vs. Atlanta) to step on a team's throat when it's down (in that case up 3-1). The Celtics had a great opportunity to really seal this up and get some rest but now it is a three-game series and they're guaranteed to have another game in Philly.



Paul Pierce had his second straight quality performance, he led Boston with 24 points and six rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 15 points and 15 rebounds but Kevin Garnett was held to nine points (3 for 12 from the floor), 11 rebounds and three blocks. KG committed a wretched seven turnovers.



Andre Iguodala led Philly with 16 points and seven rebounds, he hit a monster 3-pointer and a jumper in crunch time. Evan Turner (5 for 22 from the floor) had 16 points and nine rebounds while Jrue Holiday notched 11 points and seven rebounds.



The story of the game was the benches: the Sixers reserves outscored the Celtics 44-12. That's not a misprint. Lou Williams scored 15 points with eight assists, Thaddeus Young had 12 points, nine rebounds, Jodie Meeks tossed in nine points and Lavoy Allen put up eight points and 10 rebounds.



When you look at the box score, it's hard to believe that Philadelphia had to make such a crazy comeback since almost every statistic favors them. Philly had 14 more rebounds overall (52-38) including 12 more offensive boards (17-5), two more steals (9-7) and eight more points in the paint (34-26). Boston shot better (42.3%-37.8%), hit two more 3-pointers (7-5), dished out five more assists (23-18) and blocked four more shots (6-2).



If I know the Celtics, they'll follow their usual script of coming back with a win after a disappointing loss. We should have remembered that they like to fall short in the games following blowout victories. Still, if they get by the Sixers, we need to remember this Game 4 plus Game 5 of the Hawks series as the ones that got away from the C's.



Game 5 is Monday night (7:00 p.m., TNT) back at TD Garden. Boston split their first two games there in this series, winning Game 1 by a point and losing Game 2 by a point.



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Celtics Roll Over The Sixers In Game 3 Of The Eastern Conference Semifinals, Take 2-1 Lead

After Game 1 and Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series were both decided by one point, the Boston Celtics chose to see what would happen if they showed up from the first quarter on; I'd say the result was all they could have hoped for and then some.



Boston took Philadelphia's best shot in the first quarter (33-28) and proceeded to pummel them into submission over the final three frames as the Celts won 107-91 tonight in Game 3 at the Wells Fargo Center.



In taking a 2-1 series lead and grabbing back the home-court advantage that they lost in Game 2, the Celtics led by as many as 27 points (105-78). Kevin Garnett (27 points, 13 rebounds), Paul Pierce (24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals) and Rajon Rondo (23 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists) all surpassed 20 points in a game for the first time this season.



Michael Pietrus added 13 points off the bench but I'd be remiss if I didn't cite Boston's defense, which held Philly to 33 combined points in the second and third quarter.



Thaddeus Young (22 points) seems to be healthy now and he made his case for a starting spot in Game 4 over Elton Brand. Jrue Holiday had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds while Andre Iguodala scored 10 points. Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks both had 13 points off the bench. The trio of Brand, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes totaled 11 points, all together.



So is Philadelphia more like this than the gritty team they showed in Games 1 & 2? Were those close games enough to force Boston to wake up and realize that they have a very favorable road ahead of them if they can just keep winning? I guess we won't figure that out until Game 4 on Friday (8:00 p.m., ESPN). After all, the Celtics blew out the Hawks in Game 4 of the first round but then they lost by one in Game 5.



Pierce played by far his best game since Game 2 vs. the Hawks, when Rondo was suspended. He didn't even shoot well (6 for 17 from the floor) but he drove to the basket (11 of 14 on free throws) at will and threw down not one but two dunks.



Game 4 means everything because I think if Boston can win it, Philly will pack it in. Otherwise, it will be a series again. If you are a Celtics fan, you had to love their performance tonight because they were ruthlessly efficient: they never gave the Sixers any hope that they could win and they effectively took the crowd out of it.



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