Oftentimes, the boos were louder than the cheers at TD Garden in Boston’s 115-103 Game 5 loss to the 76ers, as the Celtics picked a bad night to play one of their worst games of the season.
Boston’s offense was a no-show in Game 5. The C’s finished with just 103 points, which is their fewest amount of points in any game this postseason, on a putrid 33-for-83 (39.8%) shooting from the field and 12 of 38 (31.6%) from three. Game 5 marked just the seventh time this season (including playoffs) that Boston shot under 40%. The C’s are now 1-6 in those games.
When a team is shooting so poorly, they better dominate the boards, second chance points, on fast breaks and at the free-throw line. Boston checked just one of those boxes on Tuesday night, and it was free throws.
The Celtics were out-rebounded 49-39, as they dropped to 20-21 on the season (including playoffs) when out-rebounded by their opponent. They are 39-8 when they win the rebounding battle. Philadelphia had the rebounding advantage from the start, as they snagged four offensive rebounds in the first five minutes.
Philadelphia led by as many as 15 in the first half, as the 76ers took advantage of Boston’s poor shooting and another slow start from Jayson Tatum. After finishing with just two points on 1-for-9 (11.1%) shooting and a plus-minus of -6 in the first half of Game 4, Tatum struggled to get things going in Game 5. Tatum finished the first half 3-for-11 (27.3%) from the field and 1 of 6 (16.7%) from three, with a team-worst -14 plus-minus in the first half. Tatum was able to salvage his first half because of his ability to get to the line, which again comes down to him attacking the basket, but his slow starts are starting to become a worrisome trend.
In the end, it came down to the lack of intensity and focus for Boston, which is yet another worrisome trend. For whatever reason, this has been a recurring theme for the Celtics this postseason. At points, it feels like Boston simply hasn’t been ready to play, and Game 5 was another example.
When the Celtics play with intensity and focus for a full 48 minutes of basketball, they are tough to beat. The problem is finding that intensity and focus. The lack of intensity in Game 5 is especially perplexing given the fact this was such a big game at home.
“That was our first really, really bad game in the playoffs,” Joe Mazzulla said. “It doesn’t come at necessarily the best time.”
The timing, frankly, couldn’t be any worse. In Game 4, Boston was two minutes away from taking a commanding 3-1 series lead over Philadelphia, but will now instead travel back to the City of Brotherly Love with a lot more on the line.
What makes things especially frustrating is we have heard from players all throughout this season about how they have “learned” from last postseason’s mistakes, yet they continue to do the same things that killed them a season ago. Now it’s put up or shut up time for the C’s as they head back to Philadelphia, trailing 3-2 in a series they have had plenty of chances to put a stranglehold on.
Boston was in a similar position a season ago, coming off a crushing Game 5 home loss to Milwaukee — a game in which Boston led by 13 with 9:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. Boston would go on the road and force a game seven.
“Last year is over with,” Jaylen Brown said when asked about the similarity. “We gotta come out and be better than we were tonight or we’ll have a different ending.”
Boston does have the most comebacks from a 3-2 series deficit in NBA history (10), however, none of that will matter on Thursday night.