The play was referred to as for Jaylen Brown. The protection created an open search for Anfernee Simons.
As a substitute, Payton Pritchard took the ball himself, driving into visitors as time wound down within the Celtics’ season opener. His layup try bounced off the underside of the rim, and his contested baseline jumper moments later missed the mark, as properly, permitting the 76ers to secure a 117-116 victory Wednesday night time at TD Backyard.
After the sport, Pritchard and his teammates defined what went improper throughout that last sequence, which got here after Philadelphia staged a 15-2 run to beat a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit.
When Boston regained possession after Sixers rookie standout VJ Edgecombe bricked two free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining — the lone blemishes in a scintillating 34-point debut for the No. 3 total choose — head coach Joe Mazzulla drew up a sideline out-of-bounds play for Brown. However the Celtics’ No. 1 choice was blanketed by Kelly Oubre Jr., so Derrick White inbounded to Pritchard up prime.
“It was a play for JB to catch on the baseline, however they type of shadowed it,” Pritchard defined. “I acquired it, attacked, in all probability simply made the improper learn. Anfernee and Sam (Hauser) had been open on the again aspect, in order that’s only a move I’ve acquired to make.”
The move, Pritchard stated later, ought to have gone to Simons, who was left uncovered past the arc when Edgecombe turned to assist on Pritchard inside.
“I made the improper learn,” Pritchard reiterated. “I believed I may get (76ers guard Quentin Grimes) within the air and draw a foul there, however the best learn was a little bit kickout to Anfernee. So it’s a rising course of. You be taught from it, and also you get higher, so on to the subsequent.”
Simons didn’t begin in his Celtics debut — Pritchard, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the 12 months, acquired the nod alongside White, Brown, Hauser and Neemias Queta — however he performed almost your complete fourth quarter, ending with 13 factors on 5-of-10 taking pictures (2-for-6 from three), 4 rebounds, one help, one block and one steal. Solely Pritchard, Brown and White performed greater than his 32 minutes.
Although the Sixers efficiently stymied the Celtics’ preliminary name, White stated he felt snug with Pritchard on the controls in that second.
“We had been making an attempt to get it to JB, they usually did a great job of type of denying him,” the veteran guard stated. “If he can’t get the ball, then we clearly belief P in these conditions so much. So I wouldn’t change a lot.”
The Celtics retained possession after the unsuccessful layup. With 1.6 seconds to play, Pritchard was capable of rise up an off-balance shot between the outstretched arms of Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, however he pushed it lengthy.
“Attempt to make a shot as shortly as potential,” he stated. “We solely had one second, so that you ain’t actually acquired a lot time.”
Earlier than his late misfires, Pritchard saved the Celtics within the recreation by hitting a 3-pointer with 15.9 seconds remaining and a driving layup with 9.1 seconds to go, each of which minimize Philly’s result in one. Brown, after an authoritative begin to the fourth quarter, went cool down the stretch, scoring simply two factors within the last 5 minutes and lacking his final three pictures.
Pritchard, Brown and White all described the loss as a “studying expertise” for a staff that turned over half of its rotation this offseason and is enjoying with out its longtime anchor in rehabbing celebrity Jayson Tatum. 4 of the 5 Celtics bench gamers who noticed motion in opposition to Philadelphia weren’t with the staff final season, three of the 5 starters had been newly promoted, and the group as an entire is operating a new, faster-paced system aimed toward maximizing Boston’s much less gifted roster.
One of many many hurdles they’ll have to clear is executing in crunch-time conditions with out Tatum. Wednesday night time marked simply the fifth time in Mazzulla’s head-coaching tenure that the Celtics had the ball within the last 10 seconds with an opportunity to tie or take the lead in a recreation Tatum missed. It was the primary such situation since Jan. 8, 2024 (a 133-131 loss to Indiana).
“It’s going to be a studying expertise from Day 1,” stated Brown, who will face extra stress to ship within the clutch as Tatum works his method again from Achilles surgical procedure. “We’ve acquired a bunch of recent guys, we’re enjoying a brand new model. I believed we performed arduous in the present day. I believed we performed a winnable recreation. We simply, you understand, (had) some essential errors that value us. However I’m wanting ahead to watching movie and studying and staying with the journey.
“But it surely occurs. We acquired a brand new group that’s nonetheless figuring issues out. A few of these different groups have performed collectively for a little bit bit extra, so it’s going to be some ups and downs. However I’m wanting ahead to only studying each day with the group. And I’m wanting ahead to once we get to that time the place we catch our wind, what that would probably be.”
