Jayson Tatum was having another less-than-stellar night on Saturday, his All-Star break hangover still seemingly lingering. But when the Celtics walked out of the huddle in a tied game with five seconds remaining, their superstar remained confident.
“I told Grant (Williams) coming out of that timeout, game time,” Tatum told ABC. “Terrible game, but find a way to figure it out.”
As he tends to do, Tatum found a way.
Terrible night or not, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla drew up a play for Tatum with the game on the line. He delivered. Tatum shook off another cold shooting night and five turnovers to hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to send the Celtics to a wild 110-107 win over the 76ers.
In a chaotic sequence to end the game, Joel Embid made an improbable game-tying heave from three-quarters court, but it was too late. Tatum (18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists) had turned his head while the ball was in the air, assuming the shot wouldn’t go in as he celebrated the victory before Wells Fargo Center erupted. But Embiid (41 points, 12 rebounds, five assists) knew right away that it was late, and officials confirmed the Celtics’ win, another gutsy road win when their star didn’t have it going.
The Celtics have now won all three meetings with the 76ers this season and own the tiebreaker over their rival, as they stayed atop the Eastern Conference.
Jaylen Brown paced the Celtics (44-17) with 26 points.
James Harden added 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Sixers (39-20).
