The Philadelphia 76ers' season hangs in the balance after they suffered an agonising defeat at home to the Boston Celtics which sees them trail their second-round series 3-0.The Celtics grabbed a 101-98 overtime victory in a thrilling contest at Wells Fargo Center to take a commanding lead and leave the Sixers on the brink of elimination.It was a back-and-forth affair in the fourth quarter as both teams exchanged leads until the closing stages as the game ended in wild fashion.With the score tied at 87, the 76ers had possession with a chance to take the final shot but J.J. Redick inconceivably turned the ball over which led to a transition layup for Jaylen Brown which gave Boston a two-point lead.That left just 1.5 seconds on the clock for Philly to either tie or win the game but it needed to be something special.With time expiring, Marco Belinelli delivered exactly that as he took an inbounds pass and drilled a difficult 22-foot fadeaway jumper from the corner to tie the game at the buzzer in dramatic circumstances.

It sent the home fans into raptures and the court was prematurely covered in confetti as those inside the arena made the mistake of thinking that Belinelli had hit a game-winner.

"Walk off three. I thought it was. I actually left the court," 76ers head coach Brett Brown said, per ESPN. "You come back on and there's confetti. You move on. It slows the game down a lot but you move on."

This led to a seven-minute delay on the court before the start of overtime as everyone drew their breath following a frantic finish.

Philadelphia began the extra period with the momentum and went up by five early on with baskets by Redick and Belinelli.

But as they've shown all season, the Celtics are made of sterner stuff and displayed their resilience yet again as they stayed in the contest thanks to a couple of huge buckets by impressive rookie Jayson Tatum.

Ultimately, the Sixers were the architects of their own downfall as they committed more costly turnovers late in overtime that allowed Boston to close the game out.

The inexperience of being in pressure playoff moments certainly told for the Sixers as they collapsed when the game was on the line.

They'll need a miracle to overcome a 3-0 deficit which looks almost impossible at this stage.

The Celtics, however, continue to defy the odds and are one step closer to sealing a second straight appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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