BOSTON — The Celtics’ reserves looked like they were going to blow what looked like a comfortable win. But that’s what happens in the modern NBA as no lead is safe. So the Kings chipped away at what was a 19-point C’s lead to even take the lead after De’Aaron Fox banked in a 3-pointer.
On the Celtics’ final possession, Sam Hauser looked to get the go-ahead bucket. But after his shot was blocked, Hauser was able to deflect the ball out of Keegan Murray’s hands. The ball ended up in Xavier Tillman’s possession, then the big man drove into the paint for a floater right inside the free throw line. In the end, Tillman sank the game-winning bucket with 7.4 seconds left to preserve the 101-100 C’s victory.
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“It was pretty cool, especially for us to really battle with them coming back and have the mental fortitude to not kind of get into it and to stay solid mentally and everybody keeps their composure,” Tillman said. “Shoutout to Payton (Pritchard), he was holding us down with that and talking to us and keeping us cool, calm and relaxed.”
Tillman said that was his first-game winning bucket since his college days at Michigan State. Back then, the play wasn’t drawn up for him either as he got the tip dunk to beat ranked Illinois on the road. So it’s a rare moment for the big man, and he got to soak in the game-winner Friday at TD Garden.
Realistically, the C’s bench players were in the game for a reason. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla benched his starters way earlier than normal, which paved the way for the bench. The Celtics have already clinched the league’s best record, so these final regular-season games don’t mean much. But they are live reps, which is extremely useful for the bench guys like Tillman.
“It was great getting the opportunity to do that,” Tillman said. “I feel like because it was crunch time, I was really locked in. Obviously the crowd was loud, but I was really zoned in, so it didn’t faze me as much. But it was great practice as far as what we’re going to go through as far as having that mental fortitude.”
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