The Philadelphia 76ers went 0-for-9 from the field to end Game 6. They scored a total of 13 points in the fourth quarter of closeout game at home.

The result was a 95-86 loss to the Celtics forcing a Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.  

Jayson Tatum started the game missing 14 of his first 15 shots from the floor. He only scored one point in the first half.

In the fourth quarter, he outscored the entire Sixers team 16-13, which included four three pointers late in the game while literally no one on the Sixers could make a bucket to save their lives. 

The Sixers unraveled in the fourth after a rally in the third quarter in which they outscored the Celtics 30-21. Georges Niang drilled two key three pointers and Joel Embiid knocked down a pull-up jumper to tie the game 81-81.

From there, the Sixers failed to make a bucket over the final 6:13 of the game.

Joel Embiid Postgame Interview

People are mad at Joel Embiid for taking the podium after an epic fourth quarter collapse in Game 6 for saying that he didn’t touch the ball enough in the fourth quarter. 

I completely understand that everyone is mad about what happened last night, as the Sixers squandered the opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals by again, shooting 0-for-9 from the floor over the last six minutes in the fourth quarter against the Celtics but focusing all of your frustration on Embiid is simply the wrong move. 

Of course Embiid has to be better. He needs to demand the ball and play like the NBA’s Most Valuable Player when no one else on the team could do much of anything.

Saying “I didn’t get the ball” really doesn’t resonate with Sixers fans because he is expected to touch the ball on every every offensive possession. That just didn’t happen last night and he deserves the criticism allowing that to be the case.

Doc Rivers and the coaching staff deserve criticism for not making it happen as well while it certainly played a part in the result of Game 6, that certainly was not the main reason why they lost. 

Philadelphia 76ers in the 4th Quarter of Game 6

• De’Anthony Melton: 0-4
• PJ Tucker: 0-1
• James Harden: 0-4
• Joel Embiid: 3-6
• Tyrese Maxey: 1-3
• Tobias Harris: 0-0
• Jaden Springer: 1-1 

The Sixers as a team shot just 8-of-34 from three point range (23.5%) and 30-of-83 (36.1%) from the floor. 

De’Anthony Melton shot 0-for-5 from the floor and 0-for-4 from three point range and rushed  a handful of key possessions in the fourth quarter when he really shouldn’t have been shooting the basketball in the first place. 

James Harden shot 4-of-16 from the floor including a miserable 0-for-6 from three point range. 

Tobias Harris shot 1-of-7 from the floor and scored just two points last night. 

I have been screaming and yelling about Tobias Harris being the X-Factor for the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs this season and last night was the perfect example why, paired with a poor shooting effort from James Harden. 

When you have Harris and Harden combining to shoot 5-of-23 from the floor and 0-for-7 from three point range for a total of 15 points, it’s really not hard to see why the Sixers lost Game 6 and only scored 86 points. 

Mother’s Day is Cancelled

It is what it is.

Mother’s Day is cancelled on Sunday and the Sixers will have to go into TD Garden, where they have won twice already this series, and win in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001. 

After the Game 3 loss at home, you had to know this series was going a full seven games. I thought the Sixers and Celtics series would arrive at Game 7 by Philly losing Game 5 and then winning Game 6 to send the series back to Boston. 

Now, who knows what will happen, but I think it’s safe to say that the Sixers won’t shoot as poorly as they did last night.

Sixers at Celtics: Game 7 Scheduling

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