Neemias Queta, Celtics Fall 106-93 and Head Home for Game 7

neemias queta and the Boston Celtics dropped Game 6 to the Philadelphia 76ers, 106-93, after building a 3-1 lead in the first-round series. Boston now returns home for Game 7 on Saturday, with the series suddenly on the edge after letting control slip away.

Boston's coverages changed

Joe Mazzulla said Philadelphia adjusted to some of Boston’s defensive looks, and the Celtics had to find different ways to create against those coverages. He also said Boston was getting run off the 3-point line and seeing far fewer wide-open looks than before.

That shift put pressure on the Celtics’ big combination of Neemias Queta, Nikola Vučević and Luka Garza, with Tyrese Maxey operating in the space they allowed. Maxey has scored more on pick-and-roll possessions than anyone else in the playoffs, while Joel Embiid has posted up more often and scored more often out of those post-ups than anyone else in the playoffs.

Tatum’s calf tightness

Jayson Tatum dealt with left calf tightness in Game 6, and Mazzulla said he got stretched and treatment in the back. Tatum, who suffered a right Achilles rupture 11 months ago, said Boston had to do everything tougher.

“We’ve just got to do everything tougher. Just screen tougher. Catch the ball with more pace. Just have a little bit more intention with things we want to do, not getting knocked off our spots and things like that.”

Boston had been playing freely all season and took the most 3s of any team left in the playoffs during the regular season, but Game 6 cut against that rhythm. The 76ers are the seventh seeds, and the Celtics now have to solve the same defensive problems at home if they want to avoid the end of a series they once led 3-1.

Saturday brings the reset, but the task is simple: make the coverages move, get cleaner looks, and keep Maxey and Embiid from dictating the same terms again.