Damn. We haven’t seen the city of Boston lose a sporting event like that since, well, yesterday. 

A night after the Boston Bruins collapsed to lose Game 7 to the Florida Panthers in the NHL Playoffs, the Boston Celtics followed it up by losing Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs to the Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers 119-115. 

James Harden matched his own playoff career high with 45 points and hit a go-ahead, step-back three pointer over Al Hereford with 8.7 seconds left on the clock to rally the Sixers past the Celtics to steal Game 1. 

JAMES HARDEN: 45 PTS | 6 AST | 2 STL

Originally tweeted by Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) on May 2, 2023.

The Sixers managed to survive an impressive scoring run by Boston in the first quarter. The Celtics shot 17-for-20 from the floor and scored at-will in the paint.

The Tatum-Brown duo combined for 42 first-half points on 17-for-22 shooting. On the night, Tatum led the Celtics with 39 points and 11 rebounds, with Brown adding 23 points and Malcolm Brogdon finishing with 20.

Luckily, along with Harden, De’Anthony Melton was there to steady the waters, scoring 17 points in the first half to keep the Celtics’ lead at just three points entering halftime. 

In the second half, no matter what Boston threw at them, the Sixers always answered. On the night, they forced 16 turnovers while only coughing up six of their own and a huge turning point in the game came with just over 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

After Paul Reed hit two foul shots, Tyrese Maxey intercepted a poor Malcolm Brogdon pass to give the Sixers the lead. 

TYRESE MAXEY STEAL

Originally tweeted by NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) on May 2, 2023.

Harden then hit the a dagger with 8.7 seconds left on the clock, and Paul Reed converted on on two game-sealing free throws with 4.6 seconds to go to give the Sixers a 1-0 series lead. 

James Harden Step Back Three for the Lead

Originally tweeted by The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) on May 2, 2023.

On the night, Maxey scored 26 points on 10-of-24 shooting from the floor. Tobias Harris added 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting, and De’Anthony Melton scored 17-points in the first half, shooting 5-of-6 from three point range. Paul Reed got off to a rough start, but rallied with a few clutch free throws, ending his night with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

The Celtics will host Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Originally tweeted by The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) on May 2, 2023.

We’ll keep you posted on Joel Embiid, who seemed to be enjoying Game 1 from the bench. 

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