Tatum’s 4th-quarter 3s push Celtics past 76ers 95-86; force Game 7

PHILADELPHIA: Jayson Tatum humbly believes he is one of the best basketball players in the NBA and not even a lengthy streak of missed shots in a win-or-else Game 6 could shake his faith.

Sometimes, though, a pep talk in the heat of the moment lifts even the most confident stars. Boston rookie coach Joe Mazzulla pulled the forward aside in a late timeout and didn’t draw a play or tell Tatum to keep shooting and soon the buckets would fall.

His message was more simple.

“I love you,” Mazzulla told Tatum. “That’s a pretty powerful statement.”

Tatum rewarded his coach’s love with decisive 3-pointers straight through the heart of a Philadelphia comeback that pushed the Celtics past the 76ers 95-86 on Thursday night to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7.

“I kept looking at the time,” Tatum said. “I’ve got time, I’ve got time to make a difference. I believed that the whole time.”

Tatum buried one 3 for the 84-83 lead and a second that made it 87-83 and put the Celtics in firm control in front of a boisterous Philly crowd. Tatum stuck it to the 76ers with one final 3-pointer for a 95-84 lead.

The defending conference champs are in familiar territory. Boston trailed 3-2 last season in the second round against Milwaukee before it won Game 6 on the road and the clincher at home.

Game 7 is Sunday. The winner of the Miami-New York semifinal awaits the Celtics or 76ers.

In Phoenix, Nikola Jokic scored 32 points in another triple-double, Jamal Murray added 26 and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2020 by beating the short-handed Phoenix Suns 125-100 in Game 6 on Thursday night.

Denver’s series victory comes two seasons after the Nuggets were