Posted: Fri, May. 18, 2012, 11:14 PM
Bob Ford: Fourth quarter the key for 76ers
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
http://tinyurl.com/77qzjmj
In the normal world of the NBA, the game was over, and by
extension, the conference semifinal series against the Boston
Celtics was all but over as well.
The Sixers were losing by 18 points early in the second half
of Game 4 on Friday night, and if there had been bright spots
amid the gloom of their play, they were pretty well hidden.
As we know by now, however, the Sixers do not operate in that
normal world, a place where winning usually requires decent
shooting and something other than ugly determination.
So, they did it again, winning 92-83, and coming from an
immense physical and emotional deficit to tie the series at
two games each and ensure, if nothing else, that there will be
at least one more game in the Wells Fargo Center this season.
Nothing else is certain, because it is hard to predict the
effect this game will have on the Celtics, who thought most of
the evening that they had found the exit door leading to the
conference championship.
Maybe Boston will regroup on its home court Monday in Game 5,
or maybe the Sixers will continue to defy the laws of
basketball logic. If they can steal another game in Boston,
where they won the second game of the series, then the next
game in the Wells Fargo Center might not be the last game for
the Sixers, but the last one this season for the Celtics.
Boston was ahead, 49-31, just a minute or so into the third
quarter when the Sixers revved their defense into gear and
began to turn the game. Suddenly, the Celtics were getting one
shot, usually contested, and nothing more. Suddenly, the Celts
were turning over the ball, and fouling to stop the Sixers'
fastbreak.
"We lost our composure," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We
stopped running our stuff."
The complete turnaround took until early in the fourth
quarter, and then the game, as ugly as ever, became beautiful.
Boston woke up and started playing again, and the Sixers never
stopped. They got huge baskets from Lou Williams and Andre
Iguodala down the stretch and put away the game at the foul
line.
"I don't know what clicked in," coach Doug Collins said. "We
started moving the ball and we were just going to keep
fighting. That's what we do. It ain't pretty, but we keep
grinding. Now, we've got a chance for a Game 5, and I told the
team that we'll just go and see where we go from here."
If the Sixers hoped to quickly erase the memory of their
blowout loss in Game 3 and regain some momentum in this
series, the opening quarter couldn't have gone much worse.
Collins said the Sixers had to come out with a better
defensive effort than they showed on Wednesday, and, if
possible, it wasn't even that good at the start of Game 4.
"We know they're going to come out with the idea that if they
get the game tonight, they won't have to come back here and
they'll get some rest," Collins said. "Teams that have
championship aspirations, the whole thing is to play as few
games as possible. The more you play, the more chance for
injury and you don't rest. There's no question teams think
like that."
Boston is a veteran team, with veteran legs at this time of
the year, and there's no doubt they would like a breather
between series if they are able to advance. Having the killer
instinct to follow through on that hasn't been their
specialty. They came out quickly in a possible clinch game
against Atlanta in their opening-round series and let the
Hawks back into it, prolonging that series. Could they do
better against the Sixers in a game that would give them
control heading home for Game 5?
"I would like that, but we haven't been very good in those,"
Rivers said before the game. "This is a big game. I tried to
tell our guys that we really haven't done anything yet.
Hopefully, we can make some room for ourselves tonight."
It appeared that the Celtics were making plenty of room for
most of the game, but at the end, they ran out of room and
they couldn't run away from the Sixers. Their hope of taking a
commanding lead in the series and putting it away with a
leisurely home game is gone.
If the Sixers were the team doubting themselves after Game 3,
then Boston, a team whose experience should make it immune to
such things, has to face the possibility of a bad outcome to
the series now.
They couldn't put away a game that was over, and they couldn't
take control of a series that was theirs to control. That's
because the Celtics are used to operating in the normal world
of the NBA, and their opponent rarely visits there.
Contact columnist Bob Ford at bford@phillynews.com, read his
blog at www.philly.com/postpatterns, and follow on Twitter
@bobfordsports.
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