Getty Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
After the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics on a last-second three-pointer from Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid gave reporters his thoughts on the shot he made just after the buzzer sounded.
“I wish I would have shot it sooner, but as I turned, I saw Derrick White there, so I couldn’t really get enough, so I had to back to my right side so I could get it off. Unfortunately, story of my life,” Embiid said.
Embiid then explained why it doesn’t bother him that his shot went in milliseconds after time had expired.
“I don’t care. It didn’t count. I guess it’s a good highlight for everybody, social media, and all that stuff, but it didn’t count. We lost the game, so it’s frustrating losing this type of games, especially when you’re winning by so much and it’s frustrating.”
With the loss, the Sixers drop to 39-20 and have dropped to 0-3 against the Celtics on the season, meaning that no matter what happens in their fourth and final game this season, the Sixers will lose their season series against their division rival.
Embiid’s Thoughts on Disastrous Third Quarter
At one point in the third quarter, the Sixers were leading the Celtics by as many as 15, but by the time the quarter had reached its end, the Celtics had not only caught up, but they had taken a two-point lead heading into the game’s final quarter.
Embiid told reporters his thoughts on how things unfolded for the Sixers in the third quarter.
“We relaxed,” Embiid said. “Al (Horford) made a couple of huge threes. Tatum got a little bit going in that third quarter too. Before that, he was not very good. Being up 15, I felt like we just relaxed. I was on the floor. With the guys that were on the floor, we were not as clinical as we were before that period of time so, like I said, with all of us, we’ve just got to be better.”
Horford making three consecutive threes helped the Celtics cut the Sixers’ deficit from 13 to four, then hitting another one cut the Sixers’ lead to one.
After a scoreless first half, Al Horford shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the 3Q, tying his career-high for most 3PM in a quarter.
Tatum then hit a three-pointer of his own to take the lead before the quarter ended.
Tatum’s Thoughts on Embiid’s Almost Buzzer-Beater
During his postgame conference, Tatum gave his thoughts on the shot Embiid made just after the buzzer had sounded.
“S*** I turned around. I ain’t even like look because I’ve seen him take a dribble and I just turned around like it ain’t enough time left and hitting it. I kind of had a feeling it wasn’t gonna count but, you know, it’s the NBA where anything can happen, right?” Tatum said.
With the loss, the Sixers have lost four in a row to the Celtics. Their last victory against their division rival was on January 14, 2022, when the Sixers defeated the Celtics, 111-99. The Sixers are now four games behind the Celtics for the no. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference while also being three games behind the Bucks for the no. 2 seed.