BOSTON — Compared with some of the Boston Celtics’ recent home-court playoff collapses, Tuesday night was far from the most dramatic.
It didn’t exceed Bobby Portis scoring a game-winning put-back layup after Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown collided while trying to rebound a missed free throw. It didn’t top Trae Young completing a double-digit comeback with a pull-up 3-pointer in the final seconds and then walking down the court letting the TD Garden crowd know how cold he was. It didn’t surpass Mikal Bridges snatching the ball away from Brown on Boston’s final possession to seal a huge Knicks comeback.
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The Celtics’ 113-97 Game 5 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t have much drama at all, unless anyone was wondering whether Boston would finally hit a shot late in the fourth quarter. But no, the Celtics couldn’t do it. Even during garbage time, their end-of-the-bench players couldn’t convince the basketball to fall through the net. Ron Harper Jr. and Amari Williams each failed to convert from close range during the final minute, extending their team’s drought to 14 consecutive misses over the final 7:03.
By then, of course, the Celtics had assured themselves of another home playoff letdown.
“I thought we had a decent first half,” Payton Pritchard said. “I just think we were just a little lackadaisical at times when we could have put them away. We just messed around with the game. And when you have a team on the brink of elimination, you’ve really got to put your foot on the gas and finish it. I thought we’d let them have life at times that they didn’t need to (have it).”
The Celtics could have closed out their first-round series early, then sat back and rested while the rest of the Eastern Conference duked it out for the right to reach the second round. Instead, with a 13-point second-half lead, Boston strengthened its reputation as a team that loves to shovel danger onto itself.
“Can’t really put my finger on it,” Pritchard said, “but honestly, it feels like we’ve been better on the road (during the playoffs). We don’t want that to necessarily be the case. We want to be dominant at home and on the road. Definitely gotta get that fixed.”
The Celtics will aim not to have another chance at home until the second round. But to end the series in Philadelphia in Game 6, they need to knock off a 76ers team feeling good about itself after its best all-around game of the series. Joel Embiid punished the Celtics inside, making 12 of his 18 2-point attempts, and handed out eight assists. Tyrese Maxey had his most efficient game of the series with 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting. Paul George, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes all found their strokes from outside.
Afterward, the Celtics blamed themselves for feeding the 76ers the type of game they wanted.
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“Didn’t make shots,” Pritchard said. “Pace slowed down. And then you let Embiid do what he did. When the pace slows down, it’s hard to cover him one-on-one, and we played right into his type of game.”
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Brown agreed with Pritchard.
“Definitely thought we could have played a bit faster, you know what I mean?” Brown said. “When they score, take the ball out, get down the court. And just overall, just not good enough tonight. Can’t sum it up where, just a lot of different areas were not good enough. We’ll watch it, and we’ll make sure that we’ll come out — we got to make sure we come out with the right energy, the right mindset, the right mentality on the road in Philadelphia. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
The Celtics didn’t need to make outside shots early to build a double-digit lead. After sinking a 3-pointer with seven minutes left in the second quarter, Jayson Tatum looked up and could be seen saying, “Thank you.” Before the make, he had missed his first four 3-point attempts. As a team, the Celtics misfired on 11 of their first 14. And still, his basket gave them a 42-31 lead.
It helped that the 76ers were similarly cold from outside, but Boston put itself in great position by finding plenty of other ways to score. Derrick White used an up-and-under to free himself for a layup. Tatum intercepted a pass and went the other way for a fast-break basket. Pritchard lowered his shoulder into Embiid to finish an and-1 over the massive center. The Celtics dished out 18 assists before halftime despite costing themselves plenty more opportunities by missing 16 of their 22 3-point attempts over the first two quarters. After entering the second half shooting 18-for-25 on 2-point attempts, they took a 63-50 lead two minutes into the third quarter.
Then, the Celtics opened the door to the ghosts of their old TD Garden playoff letdowns.
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“I think when you have empty possession, empty possession, and at the other end, you’re not getting stops, it just gets frustrating,” coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Neemias Queta’s and-1 alley-oop with 7:03 left stood as Boston’s final basket. After he missed the free throw, leaving the Celtics behind 97-94, they grabbed the offensive rebound but missed back-to-back 3-pointers that would have tied the score. They missed another on the next possession before crumbling down the stretch. Embiid beat a Celtics double-team by finding Grimes for an open 3-pointer, then scored the next four points to put Boston behind 104-94.
“Gotta play through (frustration),” Brown said. “Definitely some frustration, but just got to be better. Got to be better. It’s not always going to go your way, so just be able to handle that and respond with maturity, and be able to score the ball, make plays for others, etc., even when the rhythm is maybe not flowing in our direction. I feel like tonight, we had a chance to win and pull away. We were up 13, and we didn’t take advantage of it. So we’re all to blame. We’ve just got to watch it and respond and get better and move forward.”
Maybe it’s not fair to hold the sins of the past against the Celtics. They have a new supporting cast. They play an intense brand of basketball. They have added different ways to win, such as improving their offensive rebounding. Still, with the noted exception of the 2024 championship run when they blasted everyone, Boston’s core has plenty of slip-ups at home in big spots. The formula often looks like it did in Game 5: The outside shots stop falling, the ball movement dries up and the Celtics fade.
They will need to regroup in Game 6. As the rest of the Boston players trudged off the court Tuesday, Brown stood on the sideline with his right hand extended. He slapped five with his teammates who were walking by before heading to the locker room with them. He has been in this spot before.
As many home playoff disappointments as the Celtics have produced, they have often redeemed themselves on the road.
“Just take a deep breath, relax and get ready to go,” Brown said. “Just have the right mentality and come out and execute your job. No need to put any extra pressure on ourselves. It’s already enough of that as it is. So just come out and play basketball and play the right way. I think that’s what our mindset is, and that’s what we’ve got to do going forward. Tonight wasn’t the best example of what we want to do, Celtic basketball. We didn’t shoot the ball well, maybe some frustration was there, etc. But it’s over with now. Got to move forward.”