It’s not always huge, highlight plays that swing a game in one direction or another.
Sometimes it’s the little things over the course of a contest that can ultimately alter an outcome, and that was the case in the Boston Celtics‘ 108-100 Game 3 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. With the victory, the Celtics took a 2-1 lead and put themselves in the driver’s seat in the series.
Tyrese Maxey Doesn’t Think 76ers Were Sharp Enough in Game 3 Loss to Celtics
Getty.(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
After the loss, Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey explained how a multitude of small errors by Philadelphia allowed Boston to pull out a win in the critical game.
“A turnover leads to a basket. An offensive rebound leads to a 3,” Maxey said, via Sixers Wire. “It’s, like, every time, every single time. You know what I mean? We’re doing a hell of a job defensively guarding them, hell of a of a job in the half court, everybody fighting and doing a really good job, but it’s like offense rebound, 3-ball. Turnover, 3-ball, or layup. Missed box out layup, but that’s—when you play good teams, that’d what it is. You got to be sharp. Extremely sharp in the playoffs, man, and you’re seeing it.”
In a game against the Washington Wizards in January, perhaps the Sixers could get away with so many self-inflicted wounds and still walk away with a win. But that isn’t the case against an experienced team like Boston in the postseason where every single possession is of the utmost importance.
“… It’s little stuff like that where you just can’t have it. You can’t have it. That’s a hell of a basketball team over there, and, you know, we are, too, but it’s certain mistakes that we just can’t make,” Maxey said.
“Even, like, my turnover to [Paul George], like, it just can’t happen. It just can’t. No matter what the scenario is, it just can’t happen. You can’t give up a layup on the other end. So, the attention to detail is really, really, really, really, really small. I kind of learned early on in my playoff career that the playoffs is broken down into single possession games. Every single possession matters, and you don’t want none of those possessions to come back and bite you.”
76ers Will Have an Opportunity to Bounce Back in Game 4 on Sunday Night
Game 3 was a winnable one for the Sixers, which makes the fact that it slipped through their fingers more difficult to swallow. It’s not like they were blown out or anything. This was a close, competitive game. If the ball had bounced a different way here or there, perhaps it would be the Sixers up 2-1 instead of the Celtics.
But, the Sixers don’t have long to dwell on the tough Game 3 loss, as they’ll be right back in action for Game 4 in South Philadelphia on Sunday night with an opportunity to tie up the series with a win. Let’s see how they respond.
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