BOSTON -- When Hollis Thompson's 3-pointer ripped through the cylinder, putting the visiting -- and, more notably, winless -- Philadelphia 76ers up nine over the Boston Celtics with 9:39 to play in Wednesday's game, fans at TD Garden booed a Green squad staggering through another subpar effort and on the verge of an embarrassing defeat.
"Boston fans are pretty tough. ... They knew we were slacking in the effort division a little bit tonight," admitted soon-to-be comeback hero Jae Crowder. "I think everyone in the arena saw that. They saw another team playing harder than us and they wanted us to play hard, so we had to step it up.