Al Horford helps Celtics defeat 76ers with one shot and one steal

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The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers by 101 to 98 at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, expanding their advantage of the series to 3 to 0. 32-year-old Al Horford delivered incredible performances, making one shot and one steal in the last 8.4 seconds of extra time.

No Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward, but Boston has Al Horford

Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 5, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. /VCG Photo

Since the two teams entered extra time, the 76ers gained a head start and led by 98 to 97 until the last 8.4 seconds. After two timeouts, Marcus Morris threw the ball to Horford in the paint area. Having shouldered Robert Covington aside, Horford made the shot, helping his team come back at 99 to 98, with only 5.5 seconds left.

Back to defense, when Ben Simmons tried to pass the ball to Joel Embild, Horford cut the ball and ran straight to the front court, forcing the 76ers to foul on him. Then he made the two free throws, locking the victory for Boston with a 3 to 0 advantage, his teammate Terry Rozier said Horford will definitely have a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Besides, 20-year-and-64-day old Jason Tatum accumulated 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in the game, becoming NBA's first rookie to score over 20 points in five games in a row in the playoffs under the age of 21.

Ben Simmons and the 76ers learnt an expensive lesson

Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball against the Boston Celtics during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 5, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. /VCG Photo

Trailing by 0 to 2, Philadelphia could kill for a win for their first game at home. They were the leading side for most of the time but let the victory slip out of their hands during key moments. One of the team's twin stars, Ben Simmons was again blamed for his turnovers and failed leadership.

"How many times did 7-foot point guard Ben Simmons let the offense degenerate into Embiid forcing up solo shots on Horford or Redick or Belinelli forcing up desperation 3s? Just ugly." said ESPN's Skip Bayless on his Twitter account.

This is the 130th time a team has trailed behind by 0 to 3 in the NBA playoffs in the league's history. Not one single team has come back before in the past 129 cases. Judging by the performances on the court, it may be too much to ask the 76ers for a miracle.