Sixers discuss the resilience shown in Game 5 win over Celtics

BOSTON -- Nobody would have blamed the Philadelphia 76ers if they had run out of gas heading into Game 5 against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. They were coming off a 32-point drubbing in Game 4 at home and were staring elimination in the face. It felt like the end was near.

Not quite. The Sixers put together a masterclass of defense in the fourth quarter as they held the Celtics to just 11 points in the final frame and showed a lot of resilience in a 113-97 win to stave off elimination.

It was an impressive showing for a Sixers team that looked dead in the water following a blowout loss in Game 4 at home. It was their second 32-point loss in this series, but Philadelphia has found a way to bounce back and win the following game in both instances.

"I think getting popped in the mouth, you know what I mean?" said Quentin Grimes who played a big role on Tuesday. "I mean, getting blown out like, that's not a good taste in your mouth. You don't go into the next game worrying about or thinking about it getting blown out. So kind of reality check to go out in that game and play hard, but now it’s about to just stack two in a row and just take it one game at a time and then hopefully come back here for Game 7."

The Sixers have shown so much resolve all season as they have had to bounce back from blowout losses, players being in and out of the lineup, and finding ways to win games. Therefore, Tuesday was nothing new for them.

"This team’s tough," added Tyrese Maxey. "This is a tough group of guys, connected group of guys, and we just did a good job being resilient, you know? We gotta do a couple more times."

Game 6 is Thursday night back in Philadelphia where the Sixers will look to stave off elimination once again and force a winner-take-all Game 7 back in Boston.