After rattling off two straight wins in Games 2 and 3, the Boston Celtics have now been on the losing end of consecutive contests and, now, find themselves trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 3-2 in their best-of-seven semifinal matchup.
When asked post-game what exactly went wrong for the C’s on the night, Marcus Smart provided a blunt one-word response: “Everything.”
.@ChrisForsberg_: “What went wrong tonight?”
Marcus Smart: “Everything.”
Smart would then elaborate more in-depth about what he saw out of his club during the contest while giving praise to the Sixers for their efforts along the way.
“Everything went wrong. They made every right play, they made every hustle play. Everything went wrong for us that can go wrong,” Marcus Smart said.
Once again, the Celtics seemed to have no answer for Philadelphia’s dynamic duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden, as they managed to combine for 50 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists whilst shooting 45% from the field and 44% from deep.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey also went on to have easily his best game of the series thus far, as he dropped 30 points while shooting 47.6% from the field and 50.0% from distance.
Joe Mazzulla Labels Game 5 as ‘First Really, Really Bad Game’
While the 76ers had themselves a remarkable overall showing in Game 5, the Celtics simply could not find an answer on either side of the floor and, during his post-game media session, head coach Joe Mazzulla went as far as to deem the contest as Boston’s “first really, really bad game of the playoffs.”
“That was the first game of the playoffs that we didn’t play well in my opinion. And so we can’t lose that perspective of we played really good basketball,” Joe Mazzulla said. “It doesn’t necessarily come at the best time but we just have to shift our perspective and get ready for the next game.”
“That was our first really, really bad game of the playoffs.”
Joe Mazzulla on Game 5 loss to Sixers
Philadelphia’s offensive escapades resulted in the team shooting 50.6% from the field and 40.0% from distance while the Celtics certainly seemed to have a lid on their basket, as they converted on a lackluster 39.8% of their attempts from the field and 31.6% from deep.
Jaylen Brown Still Believes in Celtics Despite Loss
Being down in a postseason series is never a desirable position for a team to be in, but Jaylen Brown still seems to have hope.
Following the grueling loss on Tuesday night, the All-Star wing noted that there’s certainly a challenge ahead for Boston to try and stave off elimination and claw their way to a series win, but he has faith in his team as a whole.
“We have a resilient group and tonight it just seemed like the floor wouldn’t open. We couldn’t get anything going. Every game’s got its own story. That’s the beauty of basketball so I believe in my guys so I think we can come out and be inspired to play next game,” Jaylen Brown said.
“Tonight it just seemed like the door wouldn’t open. We couldn’t get nothing going.”
Jaylen Brown talks Celtics trying to bounce back in Game 6 & if it is comparable to Game 5 loss to Bucks last year
Despite the shooting struggles for the Celtics as a whole on the night, Jaylen Brown proved to be one of the lone offensive bright spots for his team.
In 34 minutes played, the 26-year-old finished the night with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 56.3% from the field and 50.0% from deep.
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Marcus Smart Issues 1-Word Message After Celtics Lose to Sixers in Game 5