Boston Celtics: Win against 76ers a turning point for the season

After two blown games, the Boston Celtics traveled to Philadelphia to take on their Eastern Conference rivals, where they won 112-109. The Celtics’ performance could be a turning point for the rest of the season.

After blowing large leads in their last two games, the Boston Celtics were approaching an all-time low in the season. Marcus Morris responded by calling out his team:

"“For me, it’s not really about the loss it’s about the attitudes that we’re playing with. You got guys hanging their heads. It’s just not fun. I don’t see the joy in the game. I watch all these other teams in the league, guys jumping on the bench, jumping on the court…when I look at us I see a bunch of individuals.”"

Little did we know his words would motivate his team to perform better than ever.

Coming off the bench Tuesday night, Gordon Hayward led the way against the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 26 points. He was also responsible for four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

He was extremely effective from deep, going 6-for-7 from 3-point range and 8-for-11 overall. His six 3-pointers were enough to tie his career-high in a game. The last Celtics reserve to come off the bench and hit six 3-pointers was Eddie House in 2009.

This game caps off what has been a tremendous run by Hayward recently. In the first 48 games of the season, Hayward only had 10 games where he had scored over 15 points. In the last four games, he has scored over 15 points in three of them. To top that off, over his last seven games, he is averaging 13.7 points per game on 55.4 percent shooting, which includes going 11-for-19 from deep.

Hayward also played great defensively. Team leader Al Horford spoke on this following the game during the NBC Sports Boston televised press conference, saying, “Defensively, it was one of his best games of the season.”

Aside from Hayward, the entire Boston team played great. Four players notched double-digits in the scoring column: Hayward (26), Horford (23), Jayson Tatum (20) and Morris (17).

Tatum had another standout game, as he achieved his fifth career double-double with at least 20 points. It is his fourth of the season, and two of them have come in the past three games. Tatum was also responsible for 10 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist. The most notable play Tatum was responsible came during the third quarter, where he put the former Rookie of the Year on a poster.

That play, in particular, may be looked back on as the turning point in the season. Watch the highlight again, but this time, watch the bench. Every single player on the bench jumped up and celebrated.

A few seconds later, not seen in the video, play is stopped and Tatum is surrounded by his teammates. That energy and excitement is the kind that has been absent since the 2018 NBA Playoffs, and it continued through the rest of the game.

Other notable performances came from Morris and Horford. Morris was responsible for 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists, while Horford was responsible for 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Max Lederman, a reporter for NBC Sports Boston, captured a photo of Boston’s bench during the game:

The Celtics have clearly taken Morris’ words to heart, and are already showing improvements. Following the game, NBC Sports‘ A. Sherrod Blakely spoke to Marcus Smart. Smart commented on the effect of Morris’ words:

"“We know who we are. We know what we can do. It was about time for someone to say something to break it down.”"

Morris’ leadership was exactly what the young Celtics roster needed, and their win proves it. Morris has fully embraced his role:

"“Last couple games really made me think about my effect on the game and what I was doing and my energy and things like that. And I just tried to change it and tried to make it be reflective down the line.”"

Although Smart did not have a very good game, shooting just 3-of-14 on the night and 0-of-8 from deep, he was responsible for a game-clinching dunk with just under 24 seconds left on the clock. Between him and the basket was Joel Embiid, who already had 5 fouls, so he drove to the hoop knowing Embiid wouldn’t risk fouling out.

During the postgame press conference televised on NBC Sports Boston, a reporter mentioned that he had noticed “more fire” from the team. Al Horford responded:

"“I think coming into this game…I felt like our backs were against the wall… We sustained it. Everyone was locked in.”"

The Celtics faced a lot of adversity after losing their last two games and playing without their starting point guard in Kyrie Irving, but they were still able to come away with the win. Both Horford and head coach Brad Stevens commented on this:

"Good teams have clunkers, but good teams respond to those with the right effort and approach. … I just thought the whole night we played the right way.”"

This win against the 76ers could be a turning point for the Boston Celtics. They are showing signs of energy and enthusiasm again, and they are looking like a team again. Marcus Morris agreed, with the emphasis on the fun:

"“It was fun, fun. It was one of the better games we had.”"

The Celtics are now 3-0 against Philly and have surpassed them in the Eastern Conference standings. Boston, with a record 36-21, now sits in fourth place.