If there was ever a quintessential Thaddeus Young game, it came during the second half of Friday nights wild comeback victory over the Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center. After all, it was during the late stages of the game when the Celtics once stout 18-point lead had all but been erased.
Credit Young and his kinetic energy with an assist in Game 4.
Better yet, give Young a handful of assists from deft passes and from some helpful team defense to keep the Sixers on track for the upset. With one minute remaining in the game and the Sixers holding a two-point lead after Andre Iguodalas step-back 17-footer broke a tie, slippery quick Rajon Rondo got through the lane for a layup.
Or so he thought.
Just before the ball was about to bank off the glass to tie the game, Young stormed over from the weak side and blocked the shot. After Jrue Holiday corralled the rebound, he fed it to Iguodala for the back-breaking three-pointer with 36.6 seconds left in the game.
Just like that and the series was tied after four games.
I was guarding the man in the corner and I saw Rondo stealing the lane so I thought, I hope someone picks up my man because Im going for the block, Young said.
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But there were plenty of other plays that put together the Thad Game. For instance, with 1:53 left and the game tied, Young got the ball on the low block and began to make a move to the basket when Kevin Garnett left Lavoy Allen open to slide over to help. As soon as Garnett made his move, Young dished it to Allen for a dunk and the lead.
I knew K.G. was the last line of defense, Young said. They didnt want me to start going off, so I just tried to make a quick move to the basket and drop it off to Lavoy.
Against the Celtics small lineup, Allen and Young were big threats in the low post. When they werent dishing off to one another or blowing up the Celtics pick-and-rolls, Young and Allen were getting a hand on seemingly every rebound. The pair had five offensive rebounds apiece, with Young grabbing three of themto go with three assistsin the final quarter.
For Doug Collins and the Sixers, the best part about the Thad Game was it came two days after he poured in 22 points in the blowout loss. Until Game 3, Youngs playoff run was largely a disappointment with a bad matchup for him against the Bulls and an ankleshin injury that limited his playing time in the first two games against the Celtics.
However, the 22-point performance in Game 3 seems to be a launching point for Young, especially since he proved to be one of the catalysts for the improbable comeback in Game 4.
Our bench did an excellent job. They deserve a lot of credit for the win, Iguodala said.
They just may have turned it into one of those Thad Games where energy and grit make the difference. In fact, Young says even when the Celtics led by 18 he knew it was coming back the other way.
Toward the end of the third when we started getting some shots to fall and we got some energy going, he said. We were playing a lot better and protecting the ball and getting rebounds and tip-ins and stuff like that.
Take a rest
For the first time in the series, there will be two days of rest between games. While the conventional wisdom leads one to believe that the extra day will help the older, more experienced Celtics, it also could have some benefit for the Sixers, and one player in particular.
In games after two days of rest, Evan Turners field goal percentage climbed to 63.8 percent compared to 43.5 percent with one day of rest. Additionally, his scoring average jumps from 8.8 with one day of rest to 13.8 with two days of rest.
With three days of rest, Turner averages16.3 points per game.
So after a 5-for-22 shooting performance in Game 4, maybe the extra day will serve Turner well.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com