3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following tough Game 3 loss to Celtics

The Sixers had their chances in this one. However, they couldn't get the rebound to secure the win and hold off the Celtics as offensive rebounding was a big problem for Philadelphia. The Celtics grabbed two key offensive rebounds in the fourth, including the back-breaking one late. Nikola Vucevic missed a corner 3 before Derrick White grabbed the board and found Jayson Tatum for a 3 of his own to give the Celtics a 106-100 lead with 26.6 seconds left. That sealed the win as Boston finished it off. Overall, the Cs won the rebounding battle 45-37 and had 22 second-chance points which was a big difference in this one.

Coach Nick Nurse stated after the win:

The one was a real big one there, right? It was a one-point game at the time. That was a really big one. What did they end up with? 15 of them for the game. I mean, it was a pretty tough rebounding game both ways. They just happened to capitalize on it a little more. What’d they have 22 points off of second chance? We had 17. Probably enough for the difference. I think they hit four or five 3s off of offensive rebounds. So, that's kind of doubly bad, right? So, I mean, it's a battle out there. We knew that was probably the number one key coming into the series and we probably didn't do enough. I thought we had some really good stretches of it, and that they got a couple key ones there, and obviously hit a couple tough shots there off the kickouts as well. Our guys played their butts off. It wasn't like they weren't giving effort to try to get those rebounds. They were trying the best they could.

Maxey makes an adjustment

Apr 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives against Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh (27) during the second half at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The star guard only had nine points on 3-for-13 shooting at halftime, including just 1-for-4 from deep, as it seemed like he couldn't crack the Celtics defense in this one. He had a tough time getting to the basket, finding his rhythm, or getting to his usual spots. All of it was such a struggle for Maxey in the early going, but he figured it out in the second half. He had 22 points on 9-for-18 shooting after halftime, and was 4-for-9 from deep as he found his groove. The Celtics have a lot of physical defenders who will force players to make adjustments, so this is nothing new for the young guard.

Nurse said on Maxey:

I thought they caught him from behind a lot, right? I got to look at it as well. I think they blocked a bunch of shots from behind on him, right? So those got to turn into—I mean, I got to look, but my feeling at halftime was some of those needed to probably go up near the free throw line, right? When we had the guy and got past the guy, and probably just go right into maybe a little bit more of a slow game instead of this drive game, but I got to look at the film for that to see. I think there's, probably, other opportunities out there if there's that many hands around him.

The bench battle leans heavily toward Boston

Apr 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Justin Edwards (11) shoots a three point basket over Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) during the second half at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Sixers need to find some production out of Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards following tough nights for both players. Even Andre Drummond, who poured in 12 points and six rebounds, was a minus-17 off the bench. When considering Grimes and Edwards combined for two points on 0-for-2 shooting, it is a big disadvantage for Philadelphia. The Celtics received 15 points from Payton Pritchard and another 11 points from Vucevic while Baylor Scheierman knocked down two triples. These are moments where the Sixers need to get more bench production.

"I didn't think Q had one kind of opportunity," Nurse stated. "We ran a little thing and he squirted out for wing 3. He didn't have many other ones. Justin usually gets some kind of more random opportunities. I don't know what he got, but I know he had one. It looked like he got one. I think I got blocked, right? Usually, he's got a few more, and that's probably, again, with some of their over help and collapsing, there's probably some kick out opportunities for those guys."

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following tough Game 3 loss to Celtics