The Philadelphia 76ers managed to square their playoff series with the Boston Celtics when James Harden hit a game-winning 3-point shot late in overtime that delivered a 116-115 victory. The play was designed by head coach Doc Rivers, who appeared to know exactly how the Celtics would defend the shot attempt.
Doc Rivers says that final ATO was designed to get a smaller defender onto Joel Embiid and then, if the Celtics doubled, that James Harden would be ready in the corner.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 7, 2023
Sixers center Joel Embiid took the ball deep into the lane and appeared to be getting ready to launch a game-tying shot. However, as Jaylen Brown of the Celtics came racing towards Embiid, the big man flipped the ball to Harden. He calmly hit the 3-point shot that gave Philadelphia its series-tying triumph.
Doc Rivers had called timeout prior to the sequence to discuss the play. He told his players that as Embiid rolled to the hoop, Brown would attempt to double-team him and that Harden would be open as a result. The play developed exactly as Rivers predicted.
The Celtics still had a chance to win the game after Harden's clutch shot, as those points came with 18 seconds left on the clock. However, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla did not call time out and the Celtics appeared to take too long for their play to develop.
Eventually, Jayson Tatum passed the ball to Marcus Smart outside the 3-point line. While Smart's shot was successful, it came an instant after the clock expired.
The Celtics had rallied from a 15-point deficit with 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter to push the game into the extra session. James Harden scored a game-high 4 points for the winners, while Embiid added 34 points and 13 rebounds.
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