Boston 75, Philadelphia 82 - Ice Cold Celtics Can't Finish Off 76ers
In a series of horrendous offensive performances, this one took the cake as the Celtics shot just 33% from the field and couldn't score more than 20 points in any single quarter.
Boston got within six and had the ball coming out of a timeout with under 50 seconds left. Ray Allen missed an open three before Andre Iguodala hit two freebies. Paul Pierce drilled a three cutting the lead to five, but that was as close as Boston would get. The 76ers made two more free throws and the Celtics could once again not hit a shot.
The horrid shooting continued throughout the third and fourth quarters as Philadelphia continued to pull away slowly, building a brief 11 point lead.
Surprisingly, Boston out-rebounded Philadelphia by 11 and put up eight more shots. Unfortunately they missed six more than the 76ers. Boston's bench was also out-scored by Philadelphia's 16-5.
Pierce put up a valiant effort amidst all of his teams shooting woes. He went 13-13 from the free throw line and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Garnett couldn't buy a basket in the first three quarters but finished with 20 on 9-20 shooting to go along with 11 boards.
Also of note, Greg Stiemsma, who shot 5-5 last game for 10 points played just five minutes tonight. Avery Bradley also missed his second straight game.
The 76ers win forces a do-or-die game seven on Saturday night back in Boston. One team's season will end there, while the other team earns the right to play for the Eastern Conference Championship.
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