The Philadelphia 76ers followed up a dreadful first-half performance with an adequate second-half performance, earning an 82-75 victory over the Boston Celtics in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
NBA Playoffs 2012, 76ers Vs. Celtics Game 6: Philly Forces Game 7 With 82-75 Win
There will be a game seven.
The Celtics never scored more than 20 points in a quarter, and had only two players finish in double figures (Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had 24 and 20 points, respectively) and were unable to fix whatever was wrong in the first 24 minutes of the game.
Overall, Boston had only 14 assists on 26 made field goals.
They also were 3-14 from beyond the arc, 1-10 before the final 80 seconds of the game.
Yikes.
Meanwhile, the 76ers came out of halftime loose and playing with more energy, led by Jrue Holiday who outplayed Rajon Rondo with 20 points and six assists. After committing nine turnovers in the first half, Doug Collins' club gave the ball up only three times in the second half while continuing to limit good looks by the Celtics.
As the eight seed, the 76ers have nothing to lose Saturday night on the road in Boston.
After being up 2-1 and seemingly in complete control of the series, the Celtics have already blown a huge opportuniy to advance to the conference finals with rest.
Now they’re just looking to advance and keep their season alive.
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