Iguodala: 'They gave us their best shot'

PHILADELPHIA -- Andre Iguodala was sensational down the stretch for the Sixers, hitting a pair of key 3-pointers to help lead the Sixers past the Celtics, 92-83, wiping out an 18-point second-half deficit and evening the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2. With the Sixers desperately needing a basket, Iguodala nailed a three to tie the game, 79-79. His jumper with 1:22 left, gave the Sixers the lead for good, 85-83 and his three with 36.9 seconds remaining sealed one of the biggest comebacks in Sixers playoff history. 

Iguodala said he and his teammates didn't give up hope despite falling behind 14-0 to start the game and getting booed off their own court by their fans when they fell behind by 15 at halftime.

"I feel like they gave us their best shot in the first half, but we crawled back in and got it," Iguodala said after his 16 points helped the Sixers even the series. "But we’re going to keep getting their best shot, and we have to keep them from getting in a good rhythm starting games."

It was the second time in the series the Celtics wasted a big start to open the game. The Celtics led 9-0 in Game 2, only to lose, 82-81. Friday's game has the potential to be the single-biggest turning point of the series, as it shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday before returning to Philadelphia for Game 6 next Wednesday.

"No matter what people say as far as it’s not over until it’s over, being down 3-1 is a total different mentality then being at 2-2," Iguodala said. "It could swing either way, so it was pretty much a must-win for us. Our psyche is a little different, but we still have to stay humble.

"We’re doing a better job of saying, “Keep fighting, keep fighting, keep pushing, keep pushing.” We’ve been down before and got back, and we’ve been down before and given the game away, whether it be the regular season. We’ve been in a lot of different situations and we’ve learned from them. We even talked about our growth throughout these playoffs and we’re starting to be consistent with growing up. Our young guys are doing better in certain situations."

For more from the team of Paul Flannery and Mike Petraglia in Philadelphia, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics [1] and the Green Street [2] blog.