Jayson Tatum’s late three-pointer buries Sixers in 117-107 loss to Celtics

Jayson Tatum let the open three-pointer fly from the left wing with 71 seconds to play. Then the Boston Celtics superstar blew a kiss to the Wells Fargo Center crowd when it dropped through the net, signaling those rooting for the 76ers were free to exit the building prematurely.

That deep shot, which put his team up by eight points, proved to be the dagger in the Sixers’ 117-107 loss Wednesday night in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s current top two teams.

“The last two games have been bad, but that doesn’t represent us,” said reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, referencing this defeat combined with Tuesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers. “We’re better than that. I know I’m better than that.”

It was fitting that a three-pointer buried the Sixers. Following the game, Sixers coach Nick Nurse emphasized the three-point discrepancy — Boston took 50 compared to the Sixers’ 30 — as the difference in the game. The Sixers exited Wednesday ranked 28th in the NBA in attempts from beyond the arc, at 29.5 per game, while the Celtics were first, at 44.2 per game.

“It felt like they were getting a pretty good look at a three almost the entire third quarter [when Boston went 7-of-18], just in a variety of ways, ” Nurse said. “But most of it was just getting in the rotation and not keeping the ball in front of us, the drive-and-kick game.

“We just didn’t do a good enough job of limiting that number. Fifty is a big number to give up.”

The Sixers ― who are now 1-1 against the rival Celtics (9-2) following two matchups in eight days — overcame a 17-point first-half deficit, but could never take control against a shorthanded opponent playing without stars Jaylen Brown (non-COVID illness) and Kristaps Porzingis (knee bruise). The Sixers, meanwhile, were on the second night of a back-to-back set, and coming off two consecutive games against the high-speed Pacers.

They trailed, 83-75, entering the fourth, but sliced that deficit to one multiple times in the quarter, including when Tyrese Maxey sank two free throws to make the score 99-98 with six minutes to play.

But after a Embiid turnover, Tatum (29 points, eight rebounds, six assists) converted a layup through contact for the old-fashioned three-point play to put Boston up, 102-98. Then, Derrick White (27 points) followed with a three-pointer at the top that rattled in at the 4:37 mark.

Maxey got the Sixers (8-3) within 110-105 on an and-1 floater with 2:09 to play, but Robert Covington could not finish inside on their next possession and then Tatum hit his big shot from beyond the arc.

Embiid, who was listed as questionable entering the game because of hip soreness, finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, nine rebounds, and seven assists but had an uncharacteristic plus/minus of minus-25. Maxey added 20 points and five assists, while Tobias Harris had 16 points and six rebounds.

The Sixers will next hit the road for two games: on Friday at the Atlanta Hawks, which will also be their third In-Season Tournament game, and Sunday afternoon at the Brooklyn Nets.

The Sixers began the game with a De’Anthony Melton corner three-pointer, but then the offense went splat for the rest of the frame.

They shot 8-of-25 from the floor during the opening quarter, including zero points from Maxey on 0-of-3 shooting. Embiid was stuck on two points until making two free throws and sinking a driving layup in the frame’s final two minutes.

The Celtics, meanwhile, shot 53.8% from the floor to build a 15-point lead. They compiled 11 fastbreak points and held a 10-0 edge in bench points.

“It didn’t seem like we were being able to get into some our [offensive sets] as easily as we would like to,” Nurse said, “or not as crisply as we would like to. It’s not always easy coming off a back-to-back, too. It took us a minute to get into the game a little bit. I think we were just giving up a little bit too much easy offense.

“We dug ourselves a hole, but at least we hung in there. I thought some guys came in and gave us a spark.”

That helped the Sixers orchestrate a sharp turnaround in the second quarter, outscoring the Celtics, 36-20.

» READ MORE: Wing rotation remains Sixers’ biggest rotational puzzle

They made 14 of their 20 field-goal attempts, including a 5-of-8 mark from three. Maxey buried a three-pointer in the first minute, igniting a 10-point quarter. Harris went 3-of-3 from the floor— including a baseline and-1 finish and another shot in the lane to push the Sixers ahead, 53-52 — and also dished out two assists.

And third-year guard Jaden Springer, who had not played in the previous two games, provided a huge spark off the bench, with seven points on 3-of-3 shooting and two rebounds while playing the whole period.

Springer began the quarter with a three-pointer, then collected a steal and transition basket. Later, he drove baseline for a strong finish, and drew a cheer when saving a ball from going out of bounds that ended with Maxey getting fouled at the opposite end.

Springer ignited the crowd again when he knocked the ball away from Tatum and threw down a fastbreak dunk to get the Sixers within 89-85 early in the fourth. He finished the night with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, two rebounds and two steals, and was a team-high plus-20.

“He certainly did everything he could possibly do in his minutes tonight,” Nurse said. “I’ve still got to learn a lot of what’s going on with this team. I think that maybe, on a night like tonight, when it is a back-to-back, that we look at some fresh bodies [in the rotation].”

Covington, who started again in place of the absent Nicolas Batum (personal reasons), was the sole bright spot of the Sixers’ poor start. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and two steals in his best performance in his return to Philly.

He scored 10 first-half points, already marking his highest total since being traded back to the Sixers from the Los Angeles Clippers. Though he missed all five of his long-range attempts — an element Nurse said the Sixers need from Covington — he alertly followed early missed shots by Maxey and Melton, got free under the basket to draw a foul, and converted a driving baseline finish. Many of those opportunities inside came from cutting, an emphasis in Nurse’s offense.

“Just getting a feel for everything,” Covington said. “Like I said, the more and more I get comfortable within the offense, I’ll be able to do a lot more. I’m still finding my place, and being that I didn’t really play last year [with the Clippers], it’s still just trying to get your feet wet.”

Marcus Morris Sr. and Patrick Beverley were the first Sixers off the bench. Furkan Korkmaz and Danuel House Jr. also played three first-quarter minutes. But that group supplied zero points on 0-for-9 shooting over the course of the game.