Celtics spoil 76ers’ premature celebration, pull thru in OT

PHILADELPHIA – Al Horford had no use for the premature celebration that showered confetti all over the 76ers’ home court at the end of regulation, delaying overtime and prompting an impromptu cleanup job.

Turns out, Horford has the Celtics just a game away from a real sweep.

Horford scored the go-ahead basket for Boston late in overtime in a wild Game 3 where the Philadelphia 76ers were sloppy with the basketball and the confetti, leading the Celtics to a 101-98 victory and a 3-0 series lead on Saturday night.

“These are the kind of moments you want to be in as a basketball player,” Horford said.

He saw some wild ones down the stretch.

Marco Belinelli had hit a buzzer-beater to end the fourth quarter that sent the Sixers into a wild celebration on the court as confetti shot out of a cannon that made it rain over chunks of the arena.

Hold up.

Game 3 was only headed into OT.

“I wanted to play right away,” Horford said. “I didn’t care about the confetti.”

The tale of the (ticker) tape shows the Celtics are still the team to beat.

The Celtics, who rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat the 76ers 108-103 in Game 2, can advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season on Monday.

The ending to regulation was about as wild as it gets for both teams. JJ Redick threw away the basketball on an errant pass to no one that was scooped by Terry Rozier who threw to Jaylen Brown for the basket and an 89-87 lead.

Seconds later, Belinelli stunned everyone with a falling 22-footer in front of the 76ers bench as time expired that sent the game into overtime – and confetti mistakenly blasted from the cannon. There was about a seven-minute delay while team employees scrambled to clean up the mess on the court. Some players even scooped up confetti as everyone waited for the start of overtime.

Confetti Guy – wearing a “Breaking News: I Don’t Care” T-shirt – pushed the button too early and the rectangular pieces were soaring everywhere.

Confetti Guy – who declined to give his name – came over to press row and said the Sixers “better win or I’m done.”

They didn’t.

Belinelli opened OT with a 23-footer and Redick followed with a 3 that appeared to take him off the hook.

But the Celtics wouldn’t let them pull away and Horford escaped for a layup with 5.5 seconds that gave Boston a 99-98 lead. Ben Simmons then threw the ball away after a timeout and Horford sealed the win with two free throws.

Sixers coach Brett Brown said he thought Belinelli had won the game with a 3-pointer.

“Walk off 3. I thought it was. I actually left the court,” he said. “You come back on and there’s confetti. You move on. It slows the game down a lot but you move on.”