Ad Disclosure
Magic Johnson Apologizes to the Philadelphia 76ers
Published:
After the Sixers dispatched the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday night:
“I have to apologize to the Philadelphia 76ers for thinking the Series was over after Game 4. Tonight, the 76ers beat the Celtics and were led by the dominant inside play of Joel Embiid – he had 33 points and 8 assists! He had plenty of help from Tyrese Maxey’s 25 points, Paul George’s 16 points and Quentin Grimes’ 18 points off the bench which included four 3’s! Grimes also played solid on the defensive end which helped the 76ers beat the Celtics 113-97! My hat goes off to 76ers Coach Nick Nurse who had an awesome game plan and had his team believing that they could beat the Celtics on the road in Boston!“
Well, listen, let’s not put the cart in front of the horse here. There’s still a chance that they get their doors completely blown off in Game 6 at home. We’ve seen that movie before and it sucks.
But there can be no debating what the Sixers did on Tuesday night. They went into Boston and outlasted the Celtics, playing their best basketball in the fourth quarter en route to a double-digit win. They weathered a first-half flurry, kept the deficit manageable, and then turned a hard corner with a big run. They didn’t get rattled. They didn’t over-pursue in perimeter defense. The effort was infinitely better and they played their game and stuck with it.
The books are pricing the Sixers around +5.5 going into Game 6, which is the smallest spread of the entire series thus far. Games 1 and 2 opened with +13.5 and +14.5 numbers. It’s gonna be a tough task to win two more against the Celtics and pull off an improbable comeback, but stranger things have happened.
WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com