Tyrese Maxey did not hide frustration after the Philadelphia 76ers fell 123-91 to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their playoff series at TD Garden on Sunday.
“Yeah, I mean the weird part about it is we kind of got some good looks,” Maxey said. “We just missed like wide open threes.”
Philadelphia shot just 4-of-23 from beyond the arc and trailed by double digits early, never recovering against Boston’s pace and spacing.
“But the defense of it, like we had a lot of defensive breakdown,” Maxey said. “A lot of stuff that we went over that can’t happen.”
Boston’s offense repeatedly attacked the rim, building a 35-point lead as the game progressed and forcing Philadelphia into scramble situations.
“Step in front of them,” Maxey said when describing corrections for Game 2. “Especially if it’s Jaylen or Jayson, step in front of them, make them kick the ball out, then rotate off of that.”
He pointed to transition defense as a key failure point.
“But they got like wide open walk down the lane layups, walk down the lane dunks,” Maxey said. “Those are the ones we can’t give up.”
Philadelphia struggled to contain Jayson Tatum, who finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while consistently getting downhill touches.
Maxey emphasized the importance of discipline against Boston’s offensive structure.
“It’s already going to be tough regardless,” he said. “We’re capable of doing it, but we can’t give those type of plays up.”
The 76ers also suffered heavily from live-ball turnovers that turned into fast-break points for Boston.
“Every turnover that we had they feel like they scored on,” Maxey said. “Especially the live ball turnovers, they hit a three or they made a layup or got a dunk.”
That swing in possessions helped Boston build control early, with Philadelphia trailing 64-46 at halftime.
Maxey also highlighted shot selection and shooting volume as key adjustments heading into Game 2.
“We got to get shots up, got to make those threes,” he said. “Shoot those threes.”
He stressed that hesitation cannot become a pattern for the group.
“If he miss four, he miss five, you got to shoot the next one anyway,” Maxey said. “Those are generating good shots for us.”
Philadelphia attempted just 23 threes compared to Boston’s 44, a gap Maxey believes directly impacted the result.
“They got up 44 tonight and we got up 23,” he said. “They made 16. We made four. So that’s 12 more threes than what we made.”
Maxey also addressed the emotional side of a lopsided playoff loss.
“They all hurt. They all don’t feel good,” he said, referencing playoff defeats. “But this one, you know, it sucks. We didn’t expect this at all.”
Despite the setback, he pointed to mindset as a correction point ahead of Game 2.
“They just did us easy,” Maxey said. “We got to make them more uncomfortable. That’s not okay.”
With the series shifting back to Boston for Game 2 on Tuesday, Philadelphia faces immediate pressure to adjust both defensively and in shot selection to avoid falling into a 0-2 deficit.
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