Apr 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) is defended by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first half at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA -- There were a few things the Boston Celtics were hunting in Game 3 of their first round series with the Sixers.
They sought out guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, and played defense on them like their playoff lives depended on it. And even more so, at the other end of the court, they chased down 3-point attempts as if they were hungry lions in the jungle.
They succeeded enough on both ends, and ultimately ate up the Sixers by 108-100 in a wildly entertaining game to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Sixers backcourt duo combined for 59 points in Tuesday's win up in Boston, but were somewhat stymied this night.
Jayson Tatum started out covering Edgecombe and did a good job smothering him as the rookie began the game just 1-for-6 from the floor. Boston started defensive gem Derrick White on Maxey, and then subbed in 6-6 forward Jordan Walsh to help out. Maxey found the going tough early, as he started 3-for-13 from the floor.
And the long-range bombing by Boston became a huge factor late in the game. With the Celtics up one at 97-96, Tatum calmly hit a three after a great ball fake for a four point lead with 1:58 to go in the game. Then, with the Sixers trailing 100-98, Payton Pritchard hit another trey to give Boston a 103-98 lead.
After missing its first four threes to begin the game, Boston drained seven of their next 12. They found openings behind the arc after offensive rebounds, and dribble drives for kick outs, and just about any other way imaginable. It was the difference-maker in a game that resembled 1990's basketball at times with hard fouls, bone-rattling defense and physical drives to the rim.
And to put the lid on the coffin, Tatum drained another triple after a Boston offensive rebound for a 106-100 lead with 25 seconds to go.
JAYSON TATUM CLUTCH pic.twitter.com/r7tNEkegql
Boston finished the night 20-for-47 from beyond the arc.
"They're going to generate some good shots, they're just too good," said Sixers coach Nick Nurse prior to the game. "(They're) Too good of players, they've been together too long. Our goal is to get the best contest we can on them and not have those where we just totally get twisted around and nobody's contesting at all. The hard part about that is they make a lot of those contested ones. What else can we do? What we can do is give a tremendous effort, contest to our best ability and if they still stick it on us, then we're doing what we can do and we'll just keep moving on."
Boston constantly made good decisions all night, finding seemingly open shots only to find even better ones with another pass. And when the Sixers tried to get their hustle close-outs, pump-fakes worked to perfection. It also seemed each and every time the Celtics hauled in an offensive rebound, it led to another 3-ball.
Maxey got his offense going and finished with a team-high 31 points, but shot just 12-for-31 from the floor. Edgecombe, coming off his 30 point performance on Tuesday, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but also had a woeful shooting night, going 5-for-17. Paul George had 18, Kelly Oubre 17 and Andre Drummond 12 for the Sixers.
Tatum and Brown each scored 25 for Boston, while Pritchard came off the bench to get 15 with all of his points coming off 3-pointers in a game played in a terrific environment.
"I said at the start of the series that two great basketball cities, two great energy arenas," said Nurse. "It's fun. It's like an honor and pleasure to be a part of this when you get to go into these atmospheres and play. Now we get to come back here and do it. It's awesome."
All but the outcome.
