Robb: Celtics Rally To Avoid Loss To 76ers
By Brian Robb, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) – The Celtics barely avoided the history books on Wednesday night against one of the worst teams in NBA history and they have about 17,000 fans to thank for helping them avoid that distinction.
The 0-16 Philadelphia 76ers led by as many 11 points in the fourth quarter, leading the boo birds to emerge at TD Garden in the early stages of the period. The Sixers were beating the Celtics down the court, grabbing loose balls and looking like the more desperate team overall. The Boston crowd made sure the Celtics knew they weren't pleased with the team's effort, or lack there of, according to small forward Jae Crowder.
"Boston fans are pretty tough," Crowder said of the booing by fans, "But at the end of the day we know they are behind us and they are going to rally and stay the course. They knew we were slacking in the effort division a little bit tonight. I think everyone in the arena saw that. They saw another team playing hard than us and they want us to play hard, so we had to step it up."
The Celtics did just that over the final six minutes of the contest, cranking up the defensive pressure against an overmatched Sixers squad. Philadelphia scored a mere three points in the final 6:16 of the contest, as Boston rallied with a 18-3 run to close out a 84-80 win.
Despite the Sixers being winless on the year, that didn't keep them from holding some swagger down the stretch that caught the attention of the Celtics.
"They wanted to win the ball game and they were very confident," Crowder noted. "I remember Isaiah saying, 'Man, they're talking smack.' They had the right to talk smack, because they were beating us, so Isaiah was like, 'We have to step up right here fellas,' and that's what we tried to do. We tried to play harder than them and tried to execute what we wanted to do. Close out a little bit harder."
Isaiah Thomas backed up that talk with his teammates by putting together a phenomenal fourth quarter from an offensive standpoint. The speedster was hitting shots when none of his teammates could buy a bucket, going 11-for-21 from the field while the rest of the roster went 20-for-70 on the night. Thomas also scored 11 of Boston's 27 fourth quarter points.
The point guard attributed his strong finish to Stevens' decision to go small with Crowder down the stretch at the power forward spot.
"It gives me a lot of space to create," Thomas said of going small. "It helps me out a lot. As long as we're doing our job on the defensive end, I think Coach likes that lineup where we do go small because it makes teams adjust to us."
The Celtics continue to have a lot of issues to sort out in the midst of a stretch when they have lost three out of their last five and are missing starting guard Marcus Smart. For one day though, the team can take a breather from basketball with a clear mind, something Thomas is able to appreciate.
"I probably wouldn't have had Thanksgiving if we lost," he said.
Boston is back at it Friday night against the Wizards at the TD Garden.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
