76ers' Jrue Holiday was big.
It had been a while since Philadelphia won a playoff game, in Boston, but Monday night the 76ers were undaunted by that gory past — and the Celtics considerable home-court advantage.
Doug Collins’ band of young, talented players held it together in the fourth quarter — unlike in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series — and earned an 82-81 victory to even the series at 1-1 and assume home-court advantage.
Seocnd-year forward Evan Turner made the driving, go-ahead layup with 40.4 seconds left and Phlly held off with six straight free throws down the stretch. Turner finished with 10 points, including his layup that put the Sixers up 76-75. He added two free throws with 12 seconds to go.
Guard Jrue Holiday scored 18 points and Andre Iguodala added 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Sixers, who blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won Game 1.
Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Ray Allen scored 17 points for the Celtics.
Game 3 is Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia led 57-49 entering the fourth, but Boston tied it twice before going up 72-71 on Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer, setting off a series of shots from beyond the arc.
Holiday answered with a 3 for the Sixers, then Ray Allen got the lead right back for the Celtics on a 3-pointer with 1:40 left. The Celtics had a chance to extend the lead after forcing the Sixers into a 24-second shot clock violation, but Rondo missed a shot and Iguodala got the rebound, leading to Turner’s layup to put the Sixers up 76-75 with 40.4 seconds to go.
