After two failed attempts, the Philadelphia 76ers finally managed to register a win at their own home court. But more importantly, with their latest win over the Celtics in Game 6, they have now forced a do-or-die situation in Game 7, where they will have an extremely rare opportunity to complete a comeback after being down 3-1 in their first-round affair with Boston.
The way by which the 76ers won in their last two games is the most striking takeaway from the series so far. Boston, touting the league's second-best offensive rating among all teams in the regular season, has been limited to 97 points in Game 5 and just 93 markers in Game 6. Once is an aberration, but doing it twice shows a trend of continuity, which bodes well for Philly as they head toward a winner-takes-all in their next outing.
In Game 6, the 76ers were able to set the tone on the defensive end right from the get go. While they had a rough start on the scoring department, they managed to smother the Celtics en route to just 23 points in the first quarter, and that held up for the rest of the game. Their sense of urgency as a collective was on full display, and this is certainly not the MO which people expected from this bunch.
The 76ers have emerged as an elite defensive team as of late
The 76ers got to continue their defensive acuity from Game 5 in Game 6. All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown collaborated for just 35 points, which is basically unheard of given their high-volume scoring. Boston shot just 41.9 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from three-point range all thanks to Philly zooming in on closing out well on shooters and containing drives that often generate open triples for the Celtics.
With so many scoring options on the roster, the source of appropriate fear when facing the 76ers is their individual and collective might on the offensive end. But now, they are actually winning games with defense. Joel Embiid is often the barometer for this team, yet despite his subpar offensive output in Game 6, the team was able to win comfortably.
From Kelly Oubre Jr. to Quentin Grimes, defense seems to have percolated into the team's DNA, at least as of late. Hopefully, they can sustain their recent dominance on the less glamorous side of the floor in Game 7, as it is the surefire thing that will certainly get them over the hump this time after years of heartbreak.
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