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The Celtics played a listless, uninspired game at a terrible time for a listless, uninspired game while the 76ers submitted one of their best performances of the season on Tuesday to claim Game 5 with a 115-103 win.
Here are the takeaways as the Sixers return back home looking for to close out the series.
1. For a streaky team like the Celtics, this was always a possibility.
All season, the Celtics have placed an enormous emphasis on generating great looks from deep, and the results were undeniable during the regular season — the Celtics had off nights with bad results, but they were the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with the league’s best net rating and a ton of spacing on the offensive end. In the NBA, the 3-pointer reigns supreme, and the Celtics are right to rely heavily on it (and even if they weren’t, the 76ers aren’t exactly an easy team to attack in the paint).
But when the postseason rolls around, odd things can happen.
Odd things, like Al Horford — who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA — finishing 0-for-7 from behind the arc.