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Neemias Queta said the Boston Celtics were undone by shot making and second-chance opportunities in their 111-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
“I think their ability to make shots,” Queta said. “They kind of made a lot of shots they didn’t make the first game. Same thing for us. We missed a lot of shots that we usually could have knocked down.”
Philadelphia shot 47.8% from the field and hit 19 of 39 3-pointers, while Boston managed only 13 of 47 from deep. Queta said that gap made everything harder on the Celtics’ defense.
“Just the severity in the playoffs,” he said. “We got to land on stops to get going.”
The 76ers repeatedly answered when Boston tried to make a run, including an 11-0 surge after the Celtics cut the deficit to 91-89 early in the fourth quarter. Queta said the Celtics never found the kind of sustained run they needed.
“Yeah, it’s not great when we can’t really get going offensively and then you got to get stops to make up for the deficit,” he said. “I think we never really got a good run of stops and whenever we got it down to one or two points they just made timely plays and hit big shots and that’s the key.”
Boston’s struggles in the second quarter proved especially costly, with Philadelphia winning the period decisively and using offensive rebounds to extend possessions. Queta said the film will tell the full story, but the immediate takeaway was clear.
“Yeah. I think that quarter everything went wrong,” he said. “Right now we can pinpoint rebounding. We can pinpoint their ability to get down to make layups, shoot threes.”
“Allowing 37 points in a quarter in the playoffs, that sounds bad,” Queta added. “So, we should be a lot better.”
Queta also pointed to the need for more physicality when the Celtics were defending Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, who combined for 59 points. He said the answer starts with effort and positioning.
“I can’t tell,” Queta said of what changed from Game 1. “They did a pretty good job today. I feel like being more physical into it, stuff that we can control and be better. And I’m pretty sure we will be better.”
He also stressed that Boston cannot let one loss spill into the next game.
“Zero to zero. I move on,” Queta said. “Knowing that they’re a great team. We respect them. They’ll put up a fight. If we’re not at our best, so we want to get out there and be at our best.”
The series now shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday, where the Celtics will try to reset after a night Queta summed up with one repeated theme: control the controllables.
