ESPN.com · Feb 3, 2025
Celtics find 'competitive joy,' mount big rally to beat 76ers
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PHILADELPHIA -- As the 76ers -- minus four of their top eight rotation players, including stars Joel Embiid and Paul George -- opened up a 90-64 lead over the Boston Celtics with 2:56 to go in the third quarter, it looked like another rough loss was on the way for the defending champions.
But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla kept watching his team's body language, judging when it might be time to pull the plug with a significant game on the way Tuesday in Cleveland against the East-leading Celtics.
"I was kind of studying their body language and it looked like they really, really wanted to do what it took to win," Mazzulla would say after the game. "So I kind of stuck with them."