Joel Embiid gave the 76ers home crowd something to stand for when he delivered a major dunk in the second quarter against the Celtics on Saturday.
Wow, what a game. The 76ers suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss in Game 3 at home to fall behind 3-0 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics. The undermanned Celtics continue to be resilient, and now look like a lock to make their second straight Eastern Conference finals appearance.
Despite injuries to multiple key players, the Celtics' 55-27 regular-season record was the second best in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers, who finished with a 52-30 record, beat the Miami Heat in a convincing five games, becoming the first team in the East to move on to the second round.
No. 2 Boston Celtics (55-27) vs. No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers (52-30)
How to Watch Game 4
Date: Monday, May 7
Monday, May 7 Time: 6 p.m. ET
6 p.m. ET Location: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania TV: TNT
TNT Live stream: TNTdrama.com or TNT app
Recap of live updates
Playoff series schedule
Game 1 in Boston: Celtics 117, 76ers 101
Game 2 in Boston: Celtics 108, 76ers 103
Game 3 in Philadelphia: Celtics 101, 76ers 98 -- OT
Game 4 in Philadelphia: Monday, May 7, 6 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 5 in Boston: Wednesday, May 9, TBA, TNT (if necessary)
Game 6 in Philadelphia: Friday, May 11, TBA, ESPN (if necessary)
Game 7 in Boston: Sunday, May 13, TBA (if necessary)
* - If necessary
Season series: Celtics won 3-1
Last season's playoff results: The Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals; The Philadelphia 76ers are making their first playoff appearance since the 2011-12 season.
Injury report:
Celtics: Kyrie Irving (knee), Gordon Hayward (leg) and Daniel Theis (knee) will miss the postseason.
76ers: None.
Boston Celtics projected starting lineup: G Terry Rozier; G Marcus Smart; F Jayson Tatum; F Aron Baynes; C Al Horford
Philadelphia 76ers projected starting lineup: G Ben Simmons; G J.J. Redick; F Robert Covington; F Dario Saric; C Joel Embiid
Celtics win if:
The Celtics might be injured, but what they lack in talent they make up for in great coaching and execution. Boston is one of the most organized teams in the NBA and it gives the Celtics an advantage that keeps them in almost every game they play in. However, they lack the offense needed to win a shootout with the 76ers. The Celtics will need to make this series ugly with a lot of grind out games.
76ers win if:
The 76ers have the talent and athleticism to run right by the Celtics. They're a better team on paper and they need to exploit that at every moment they can. They've gotten a taste of how playoff basketball works now and know how to attack mismatches. With a giant point guard like Ben Simmons, and a skilled center like Joel Embiid, there should be plenty of mismatches for the 76ers to exploit. Worst case, they need to turn every game into a run and gun shootout. Control the pace and the 76ers win this easily.
SportsLine projections:
According to SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh, the 76ers have a 79 percent chance to win the series. SportsLine will have game-by-game gambling advice for every playoff series here.
2018 NBA Playoff Bracket
The Boston Celtics have remained a perfect 6-0 at home during the postseason, but they have yet to win on the road. They'll be aiming for their first victory away from TD Garden when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia opened as a nine-point favorite; the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, opened at 208 but has dipped to 206.
Before picking either side, you need to read what SportsLine NBA expert Larry Hartstein has to say. Hartstein, a former lead writer at Covers and The Linemakers, has nailed four of his last five picks involving the 76ers. We can tell you he's expecting a low-scoring game and is leaning toward the under.
Hartstein, who has a strong analytical background, has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Boston vs. Philadelphia and locked in his pick.
He's been money in this series. For Thursday's Game 2 contest, in which the Sixers were laying 3.5, Hartstein astutely noted the Celtics' defense on Ben Simmons would once again be stellar. So he took the points. The result? Simmons scored just one point on 0 of 4 shooting while committing five turnovers in a 108-103 Boston win, allowing Dragiev to cash with ease.
The Celtics can cover the spread, and win outright, if Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier keep getting open looks from 3-point range. The trio combined to go 8-for-18 from long range on Thursday, and for the series, Boston has been a phenomenal 32-for-71 beyond the arc -- a 45-percent clip.
The 76ers can cover the spread if Joel Embiid can avoid foul trouble and play tough defense. In the fourth quarter of Game 2, the Philly center appeared to be gassed as sprinting Celts zipped right past him to the hoop. The Sixers will need him to be a dominating force if they have any shot at making this series competitive.
The over is 4-0 in Philadelphia's last four games following an against-the-spread loss, and Boston is 5-1 against the spread in its previous six head-to-head contests.
Hartstein has evaluated all this, found an X Factor, and locked in his strong pick.
So which side of Celtics-76ers do you need to be all over in Game 3, and what's the x-factor for this matchup? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick by Hartstein, who has nailed 80 percent of his most recent Sixers selections.
