Celtics stun Sixers on Jayson Tatum’s game-winning 3; Joel Embiid’s long heave bucket comes after the buzzer

The Boston Celtics stunned the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night in one of the best games of the regular season. In the waning seconds, Jayson Tatum hit a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 110-107 lead, which proved to be the final score after Joel Embiid’s made three-quarter court heave came after at the buzzer.

Down by 15 in the third quarter, the Celtics turned the game around and briefly led by double-digits themselves in the fourth. But after Embiid led a Sixers comeback, the score was all tied at 107 with 10.8 seconds remaining. The Celtics’ first attempt to find a game-winner was cut short by the Sixers using their foul to give. 

That gave Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla a chance to call a timeout and dial up a new play. This time, there was nothing the Sixers could do. Taking a pass from Marcus Smart, Tatum stopped on a dime and drained a pull-up 3 over De’Anthony Melton with 1.3 seconds left. 

With no timeouts remaining, the Sixers’ only hope was to inbound it quickly and throw up a prayer. Embiid’s was answered, but a split-second too late. His one-hand heave from his own free throw line sank through the net and sent Wells Fargo Arena into hysterics, but the celebrations were cut short when the replays clearly showed the ball was still in his hand when the red lights came on. 

Tatum had a rough night overall, finishing with 18 points on 17 shots, but he made the one that counted the most. Embiid, on the other hand, was his usual dominant self and went for 41 points on 12-of-21 from the field.