PHILADELPHIA — After Derrick White smoked a layup — and Guershon Yabusele sunk yet another three-pointer — it appeared that the Celtics’ were inching toward one of their worst losses of the season.
A 26-point deficit against the shorthanded 76ers loomed with three minutes left in the third quarter.
And, as many Celtics’ fans in attendance at Wells Fargo Aces began to warily look toward the exits, Joe Mazzulla also began to wonder if it was time to wave the white flag.
In fact, the third-year head coach challenged his players at halftime to up their energy — or he’d turn to the bench.
“Joe was like, ‘Yo, if you tired, just tell me, I can sit you guys down, let the Stay Ready guys play,’” recalled Jayson Tatum after the 118-110 comeback win. “And, we just had a choice to make.”
Collectively, they decided they weren’t going to write off Sunday evening as just another bad night.
“We just had to be honest with ourselves at halftime… our competitive spirit wasn’t where it needed to be,” Tatum said.
Jaylen Brown agreed.
“It is [easy] to just call it a night and just throw the subs in, or just come up with some kind of excuse to give the media or whatever,” Brown said. “We rallied back, we put the effort in, we turned it up, we stayed together — and we persevered through a win.”
How the Celtics overcame their largest deficit in the Joe Mazzulla era
The Celtics trailed by 17 at the half after shooting just 25.9% from three — while the 76ers shot a scorching 52.6%. Midway through the third quarter, the shooting gap had somehow gotten even bigger.
“At one point, I looked at the box score and they [Sixers] were shooting 60% from three, and we were shooting 26%, and so I said, ‘We’re going to lose by 50 or it’s going to be a close game.’” Mazzulla said.
And, while Philadelphia’s lead ballooned from 17 to 26 during the third quarter, Mazzulla liked what he saw even when things weren’t going the Celtics’ way.
“I was kind of studying their body language, and it looked like they really, really wanted to do what it took to win,” Mazzulla said. “So, I kind of stuck with them — and they delivered.”
The Philadelphia lead continued to grow in large part due to the play of Yabusele, who exploded for 21 points — 12 of which came in the third quarter, punctuated by a few high-flying dunks. In the absence of both Joel Embiid and Paul George, Kelly Oubre and Justin Edwards combined to hit 4 of 7 threes.
Still, the Celtics stayed in it.
“It didn’t go our way right away — and we just had to keep fighting — but it brought out the best in us,” Tatum said. “That’s how we are supposed to play. It took a little bit from everybody. Our competitive joy was there on both ends.”
In the first half, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for just 16 points on 6-15 shooting. The 76ers had 20 points in transition, led by Tyrese Maxey, who had 23 points at the half. Mazzulla wanted to see a better effort — and he made it clear.
“The way we played in the first half was not representative of who we are as a team, as an organization,” Tatum said. “And, we took it as men and responded.”
In the second, the All-Star duo exploded for 40 points on a stunning 16-22 shooting.
Thanks to some lockdown defense by both Brown and Jrue Holiday, Maxey scored just 11 points on 2-7 shooting in the second half.
The result was the comeback of the year — and two wildly impressive individual statlines. Tatum finished the night with 35 points (13-20 FG), 11 assists, and 7 rebounds, while Brown tallied 21 points (9-17 FG), 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
And, while the comeback was led by the Celtics’ superstars, it was a true team effort that saw everyone who played in the second half meaningfully contribute.
Sam Hauser, who has had an up-and-down season in Boston, hit 3 of 4 second-half three-pointers in 12 minutes off the bench.
Derrick White nailed both of his fourth-quarter three-pointers despite being sidelined for the first 8 minutes of the period.
Jrue Holiday, who played the entire final period, hit the dagger three-ball to give the Celtics an 8-point advantage with under a minute to play — and Wells Fargo, inundated with Celtics fans, exploded in celebration.
Tatum said as they fought to cut the deficit, the team exhibited an encouraging level of resilience.
“It takes a strong group,” Tatum said. “And I give credit to Sam off the bench, Luke — those guys gave us big minutes, made big plays.”
In turn, over the game’s final 15 minutes, the Celtics outscored the 76ers 54-20 — shooting 74% overall and 12 of 16 from three, per NBC Sports Boston’s Dick Lipe. The 26-point comeback was tied for the largest of the NBA season, by any team.
A marquee win on a Sunday evening in Philadelphia
After it was complete, Mazzulla — who typically downplays wins and their significance — shared the message he had for his players.
“I just told the guys, in the NBA you get a few chances to where you really see your guys do something special in the regular season,” Mazzulla said.
Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown agreed that Game No. 50 marked a special moment in the Celtics’ season.
“Sometimes, just like, man, we got to remind ourselves who we are,” Tatum said. “We was down 18 in Indiana last year in Game 3 [of the Eastern Conference Finals]. We’re familiar with being in those situations, but we just had to play with a little more swag. We ain’t have no life to start the game.”
That swag and that life returned in the second half — and it was apparent to anyone who was watching.
“I liked how the guys were communicating with each other,” Mazzulla said. “I like how we were fighting defensively.”
“We just had to keep chipping and keep believing, until we kind of broke through,” Tatum said.
Brown recalled getting overly frustrated by a foul call in the first half — and credited 76ers head coach Nick Nurse for providing his players a thorough game plan.
But, he also noted the Celtics shouldn’t have found themselves in this position.
“There’s enough talent where teams can play really well,” Brown said. “But we’re the better team. And we just had to stick with it.”
Ultimately, it was back-to-back Jayson Tatum three-pointers that erased a five-point fourth-quarter deficit to give the Celtics a 1-point lead with 7 minutes to play.
They never trailed again.
The litany of missed shots and defensive lapses in the first half can certainly be scrutinized. The Celtics will likely review film of their early-game mistakes ahead of Tuesday’s match-up against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
But, when it’s all said and done, what stood out most was the Celtics’ inability to quit. It’s just one victory — but it had nearly every element of a marquee win.
“I was proud to coach them this game,” Mazzulla said.
