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BOSTON – The Celtics won their ninth consecutive game on Tuesday night, posting a 117-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. They did it despite hitting only five three-pointers that night.
Yes, the Celtics won a game when their three-ball wasn’t falling. Scary.
Like it or not, the Celtics are a 3-point team in a 3-point league. They lead the NBA with 42.6 shots from downtown per game, and Joe Mazzulla would probably like them to shoot even more. (As long as they’re open looks, that is.) And Boston is nearly unstoppable when its long-range offense is active, touting a 41-3 record entering Tuesday’s game when shooting 32 percent or better from beyond the bow.
While they have other ways to beat teams, the Celtics tend to struggle when all three don’t go down. So when they shot just 2 of 11 from downtown on Tuesday night, it felt like they were lucky to have a two-point lead at halftime.
The Celtics made just three 3-pointers in the second half and finished 5 of 22 overall, but that didn’t stop them from leaving the game open against Philadelphia. With the 76ers getting happy and taking away the perimeter, Boston set out to dominate the paint. And with Joel Embiid sidelined, Philadelphia had little resistance to Boston’s cutters.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum put their heads down and attacked the rim relentlessly on Tuesday, while Kristaps Porzingis continued to dominate in the post. All three scored over 20 points for Boston and combined for 42 in the paint. The Celtics finished with a 64-42 lead over the 76ers in the paint.
It was Boston’s first win with five or fewer 3-pointers since 2018, and the 22 3-point attempts were the fewest in three years. according to Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.
“This game was probably one of our best games of the year, from the point of view that we were able to win in a different way,” Mazzulla said after the victory. “And this game showed a model of how teams are going to defend us, and it gives us something else to practice on. I think our guys did a great job.”
The bottom line was that the Celtics were extremely efficient and got excellent shots on Tuesday, with a true shooting percentage of 64.8. That’s what happens when a team owns the paint and perpetually attacks the rim, even if it’s not hitting from downtown.
“I don’t love three-pointers, I love big shots,” Mazzulla said. “This team has really grown to embrace what the defense gives you every night.”
Brown was in attack mode all night, scoring 28 of his game-high 31 points from the paint or the free throw line. He was 10 of 11 in the restricted area and knocked down eight of his 10 free throws. He eclipsed 30 points despite making just 14 field goals.
Brown made just two 3-pointers that night and said he overlooked open looks on the perimeter to make Philadelphia’s defense collapse throughout the game.
“Sometimes I pass up the three-pointers to try to get a touch of paint because we need a little more of those to help our three-point shot even more. A lot of times I take it upon myself to try to get to the paint, even if I have a open shot because I know if the defense collapses, then we can get some open threes at the line,” Brown said after the win.
“He’s always in attack mode,” Mazzulla said of Brown. “I love what Jaylen is doing. I love the job he’s doing, I love the poise with which he plays on the offensive end, I love the way he scores different baskets.”
Brown got off to a good start and kept the Celtics afloat as the team struggled in the first half. Tatum then took control in the fourth, scoring 15 of his 29 points in the final frame to end any Philadelphia comeback attempt. Six of those points came in the paint as Tatum set his sights on the rim and the free throw line. He scored seven points from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter and was 10 of 11 overall.
While he was just 1 of 7 from 3-point range, Tatum scored 27 points on 20 shots on Tuesday night. He also added 11 rebounds and a team-high eight assists in the win.
And for good measure, Porzingis added 23 points and 12 rebounds, eight of his points coming in the paint and a dozen at the free throw line. No team is going to beat the Celtics if their three best players score over 20 points despite poor shooting nights from downtown.
As Mazzulla said, the Celtics winning despite making just five 3-pointers is illuminating. It shows players that they have the talent to win in other ways than just letting it fly, and that Tatum and Brown can usually score from wherever they want.
It was a nice reminder of what attacking the basket can do for a team, even if that team turns out to be the best in the NBA. There will be nights in the playoffs when Boston’s 3-pointers don’t fall, and if the Celtics can remember Tuesday night’s win, they should be able to avoid some of the pitfalls that hurt them in past playoffs.
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