Game 5 of the Boston Celtics 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Philadelphia 76ers was for all intents and purposes a Game 1 in a best-of-three series after the Sixers knotted up the second round with an overtime win in Game 4 of the series. The Celtics didn’t understand the urgency yet again, playing a team accepting a loss almost from the opening minutes of the contest.
A slow start from Jayson Tatum (36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) coupled with lackluster effort on defense for most of the game set Boston up to lose, and Al Horford (0 points, 5 boards, 4 assists) going 0-of-7 from 3 compounded things for the Celtics.
