Late in the second quarter of the Sixers’ Game 3 loss to the Celtics, Ben Simmons sent an underhand pass behind him to a trailing Joel Embiid on a fastbreak and Embiid threw down a dunk over Aron Baynes that shook the Wells Fargo Center.
It was the kind of dunk that would be watched over and over across all media platforms no matter the result of the game. Baynes became the punchline and Embiid was heralded for his athleticism and dominance.
But from the Celtics’ point of view, it was just a blip in the larger and more accurate story.