NBA Twitter trolls Celtics for Game 1 meltdown vs. 76ers: Best memes, tweets
The Celtics piled on the misery in Boston as James Harden and the 76ers pulled off a Game 1 upset with the help of the home team late.
Fans in Boston were still mourning the Bruins blown a 3-1 series lead against the Panthers when the Celtics proved the addage true: when it rains, it pours.
Boston was a considerable favorite over the Joel Embiid-less 76ers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. And they had a four-point lead in the final two minutes of play.
If you’re a Philadelphia fan, you’ll say James Harden, who turned up looking like he dressed for the Met Gala, was too much to handle. If you’re a Celtics fan, you’ll say they blew it.
NBA Twitter blasts Celtics for blowing it vs. 76ers
First year coach out of sorts, sloppy handling, turnovers late...stunning tribute by the Celtics to the departed Bruins
— Serious Football Guy 🍺 (brew checkmark) (@FitzyGFY) May 2, 2023
Haven’t seen a Boston team cough one up that bad since yesterday.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 2, 2023
Bad 24 hours in that arena for Boston.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) May 2, 2023
The best time to predict a Celtics loss is when the other team is undermanned and everyone is predicting a Celtics win.
— CelticsLife.com (@celticslife) May 2, 2023
Rough two nights for Boston fans. pic.twitter.com/VGSW3Kd322
— nba paint (@nba_paint) May 2, 2023
As much as Twitter wanted to troll the Celtics, social media also gave Harden his due.
James Harden just reminded the world of WHO HE IS. 45 points, 7 threes, 6 assists and a Game 1 victory over the Celtics WITHOUT Joel Embiid. STOP PLAYING WITH HIM pic.twitter.com/zXBhBj8Y8E
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) May 2, 2023
Harden walked into TD garden without embiid and dropped 45 in a win vs the team KD and Kyrie got swept by pic.twitter.com/6TygwnIBgv
— Le5-6 (@deepyy_) May 2, 2023
THEY TOLD ME JAMES HARDEN DISAPPEARS IN THE PLAYOFFS
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) May 2, 2023
THEY TOLD ME JAMES HARDEN CAN’T SCORE WITHOUT FREETHROWS
Massive game/pants for Harden. One of the best of his career. pic.twitter.com/sbLsRGtcCU
— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) May 2, 2023
Boston committed two turnovers in the final three minutes, scoring just four points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field.
The worst of those turnovers was courtesy of Malcolm Brogdon, who delivered a pass straight to Tyrese Maxey to take all the way back for an uncontested layup on the other end. That was with 30 seconds to go and gave Philadelphia a 114-113 lead.
After Harden hit a triple for the lead with 8.1 seconds remaining, Marcus Smart committed the second turnover at the baseline, giving the ball away and essentially ending the Celtics hopes.
This was the best possible outcome for the 76ers, who weren’t expected to steal a game in Boston with Embiid sitting out because of his sprained knee. His status for Game 2 is still up in the air but Harden, Maxey and company have already proven they can hold down the fort until he returns.
As for the Celtics, this was a setback but it’s still early in the series. If they needed motivation, they’ve got it now.
NBA Draft Big Board 7.0. dark. Next
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.