Basketball: Tatum seals Celtics’ thriller over Sixers, Embiid

LOS ANGELES – Jayson Tatum drained a three-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to give the Boston Celtics a thrilling 110-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a heavyweight Eastern Conference clash on Saturday.

Breaking down his thought process for the game-winning play, the 24-year-old four-time All-Star told ESPN: “Get separation and make a play.

“Felt (De’Anthony Melton) leaning, snatched it back for the move and shot I worked on a thousand times before.”

“I wasn’t playing my best, just wanted to find a way to impact the game at both ends,” added Tatum, who finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists after going seven-for-17 from the field.

“It’s tough to win in this league. We just showed tonight our resilience and ability to figure it out.”

The 571st meeting between the two National Basketball Association rivals lived up to its billing, with the lead changing hands five times in an enthralling contest which ebbed and flowed before Tatum’s stunning late winner.

The forward had struggled to find his range throughout the game at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Centre, but delivered when it mattered to give Boston victory on a night that saw Sixers talisman Joel Embiid score 41 points in vain.

Embiid almost forced overtime following Tatum’s late three-pointer, launching a full-length three-pointer which found the net but was just a fraction too late to beat the buzzer.

“I don’t care,” the Cameroonian said, when asked if it felt worse that his shot actually went in. “It didn’t count. But I guess it’s a good highlight for everybody, social media and all that stuff.

“But it didn’t count, and we lost the game. It’s frustrating losing these types of games, especially when you’re winning by so much. It’s frustrating.”

The Celtics had overturned a 15-point deficit in the third quarter, with Al Horford’s 15 points sparking the rally.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 26 points on a night when six Boston players finished in double digits.

“It’s a hell of a team win,” Tatum added. “(Jaylen) was playing well the whole night but guys everywhere were making plays, and that just speaks (about) the depth of our team and what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Tatum admitted he had looked away when Embiid launched his desperate late heave that came close to forcing overtime.

“I turned around – I didn’t even want to see it,” Tatum said. “It’s the NBA, where amazing happens – I’m just glad it didn’t count.”

The victory extended Boston’s lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 44-17, one game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks on 42-17.

Philadelphia remain third with a 39-20 record.

The defeat was hard on Embiid, who had been magnificent throughout to help Philadelphia move 15 points clear at 67-52 early in the third period.

Embiid made 17 of 18 from the free-throw line and finished with 12 rebounds and five assists.

James Harden added 21 points, while Tobias Harris pitched in with 19.

Also on Saturday, a meeting between the top two teams in the Western Conference saw Memphis Grizzlies take down the top-ranked Denver Nuggets 112-94 at the FedExForum.

Memphis took the lead near the end of the first quarter and never looked back, at one stage stretching their lead to 35 points against an out-of-sorts Denver team.

Denver’s reigning two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic was restricted to 15 points to lead the Nuggets scoring. Only four Denver players reached double-digits in scoring.

Memphis, meanwhile, spread their offensive threat around with Ja Morant leading the way with 23 points and Tyus Jones adding 17 off the bench, including five three-pointers. AFP