Brett Brown called a timeout after multiple Jaylen Brown slashing dunks. But the one he didn’t call as the Celtics stormed back down 21 to within five in the same quarter haunted him.
Boston broke into an offensive rhythm that didn’t stop into the final moments, shredding the 76ers for a 50-30 run through the middle portion of a game they’d close with perfect passing to manipulate Joel Embiid playing with five fouls while five minutes remained on the clock. Ben Simmons proved ineffective, Marcus Smart lit up the three-point line and Terry Rozier once again flashed dynamic scoring in crunch time to pull off a 108-103 win and improbable lead in the second round.