76ers 82, Celtics 75
PHILADELPHIA - Jrue Holiday scored 20 points Wednesday night, as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 82-75 in Game 6 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series, forcing a decisive seventh game Saturday in Boston.
Elton Brand added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers, who went from six down early in the third quarter to 11 up early in the fourth, then held on.
Paul Pierce had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead Boston. Kevin Garnett, booed every time he touched the ball after saying the Sixers had "fair-weather" fans following Game 5, added 20 points and 11 boards.
Five players scored in double figures for the Sixers, who won despite shooting 17-for-28 at the foul line and missing eight of nine 3-point attempts. They were also outrebounded, 48-37. But they limited the Celtics to 33.3-percent shooting, while shooting 45.7 percent themselves.
They took the lead for good when they reeled off 11 straight points early in the third period, erasing a 41-35 deficit. Brand scored the first four points in that flurry, and Andre Iguodala capped the run with a thunderous slam dunk on which he drew a foul from Pierce. Iguodala then made the free throw as well.
The Sixers, up 60-56 at the end of the quarter, extended their advantage to 70-59 with 7:15 left. Holiday had four of his points in the early stages of the period, and Lou Williams had the basket that put them up 11.
Iguodala and Evan Turner had 12 points apiece for the Sixers, and Williams had 11.
The Sixers broke out to a 9-4 lead at the beginning of the game, and were in front most of the first half. But after Iguodala's dunk with 8:19 left in the first half gave them a 28-23 lead, they didn't score again until Turner made a jumper with 3:02 remaining, missing nine straight shots and turning the ball over twice.
The Celtics responded by reeling off eight straight points, four each by Garnett and Pierce, to go up 31-28.
The game was tied twice after that, the last time at 33-33. But Boston's Mickael Pietrus took a pass from Rajon Rondo and nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner with 0.5 of a second left in the half to give Boston a 36-33 lead at the break. It was the only 3 by either team in the first half.
Pierce scored 11 before intermission for Boston, which shot just 31.7 percent to that point in the game. Holiday had eight to lead Philadelphia, which was outscored 17-11 in the second quarter.
NOTES: Former Sixers great Allen Iverson delivered the game ball before tipoff. ... Boston guard Avery Bradley missed his second straight game with a sore left shoulder, and remains "day to day," according to coach Doc Rivers. ... Sixers coach Doug Collins said he was "very surprised" Iguodala was not voted to the NBA's All-Defensive Team. Iguodala, who in Collins' eyes is "definitely one of the premier defenders at his position in this league," narrowly missed a berth on the second team. ... The team that won the third quarter won each of the first five games in the series. "It's been more the survival quarter for the team that's been down," Rivers said. ... Eagles running back LeSean McCoy was part of the crowd, as was the U.S. women's soccer team.
