The Philadelphia 76ers are on their first multi-game losing streak of the season after losing to the Boston Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back. Losing such games is understandable but it underscores the importance of winning the night before. The Sixers were in both games but fell to Boston despite absences from Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis.

The Sixers had just seven players record points. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each had just 20 points while Tobias Harris, Robert Covington and De'Anthony Melton each had 16. For Boston, Jayson Tatum had 29 points and Derrick White had 29.

Although some of the Sixers' role players had strong games, a shorthanded Celtics team generated quality offense for most of the game while Philly's stars came up short. Let's dive into the film.

5. A major thorn in the side

The Sixers probably feel like they’ve seen enough of White for a little while. The guy just does everything on both ends of the floor and, as he showed in this one, can step in and be a primary offensive engine in a pinch.

All throughout the game, White showed how good he was at attacking off the catch. Like a car going zero to 60 in 3.5, he accelerated right by the closeouts to get into the paint for buckets and dimes. His floater and ability to pass out made him a nuisance for Philly.

In this late-game possession, Jrue Holiday's quick between-the-legs dribble gets Covington on his hip, inviting Melton to slide over. Even though he's pretty far behind the deep line, White wastes no time getting to the paint. From there, it's an easy kick-out to a wide-open Tatum. He keeps Maxey away by looking at Sam Hauser in the corner before whipping it to the other #0 on the court. Covington needs to be ready to get back out to Tatum but he is not.

Nick Nurse mentioned after the game that the Celtics' 50 threes were too much, explaining that the Sixers did a bad job containing their drive-and-kick sequences. This was just one of many where Philly allowed pressure at the point of attack and folded.

4. RoCo relocation

What a strange episode of the Twilight Zone we've gone to where Covington scores all of his points on non-threes. His 16 points came exclusively on free throws (shooting a perfect 4-4) and his furthest field goal was from seven feet away. He cut through the Celtics defense ad nauseam for his highest-scoring performance of the season.

On one possession in the third quarter, the Celtics went for the double on Embiid in the post. Covington recognized it immediately and cut to the block for the dump-off pass. Embiid goes with a Patrick Mahomes-esque side-arm throw as White and Tatum miscommunicate on who should have picked up Covington.

Covington won’t have many more games where he misses all five of his threes and he may also not have a game with as many points in the paint. Cherish it for whatever it's worth.

3. Why Morris isn’t cutting it

Sixers fans are already groaning collectively when they see Morris come to check into the game. Any grace that can be extended because he's new to the team and is still trying to get up to speed with this season after not playing at all prior to the trade has been waived.

On the Sixers' final offensive possession of the third quarter, Morris gets the pass on the wing with a defender closing out on him. He does the absolute worst thing he could have done: hold onto the ball and do nothing. A jab step to open up a smidge of room does him no good as he hoists up a contested three with eight seconds left on the shot clock.

Covington is open at the top of the key with no defender anywhere near him. Embiid flashes to the middle to give him another option when Kornet moves up to cover RoCo. This type of shot is one you take in the final few seconds of the shot clock and say a prayer with, not when you have time AND open teammates. It just can’t happen.

Morris has made his career on being a face-up scoring threat and strong perimeter shooter. Falling back on what he knows in an environment he's still getting comfortable with is understandable but also not acceptable. If he's still this out of sorts with the Sixers' system, Nurse should not play him real minutes. At the very least, he should have a short leash.

2. Springing into action

Springer's impact was all over this game. His 20 minutes helped get the best minutes out of the main group of Sixers players and gave them a fighting chance. Embiid and Maxey were very pleased with what they saw.

Perhaps the most encouraging play from Springer was his drive against White. With one of the NBA's best defensive guards closing in on him, Springer drives and finishes in traffic, showing an impressive display of poise and aggression. The fact that he also rose up comfortably for an open three was huge, too.

But this one was just too fun not to highlight.

Springer is about to get the double whammy of Tatum attacking his top foot and getting screened from behind. Defenders will often slant their position to force someone a certain way — why Springer is forcing Tatum to his strong hand here, I'm not sure — so the ball-handler will shoot back the other way because the defender has to flip their hips to keep up. It's not easy to do, as White demonstrated earlier in the game.

Just as Tatum crosses over and Svi Mykhailiuk sets the screen, Springer pokes the ball away and beats Tatum to the loose ball. Listen as he screams with excitement on his two-handed slam. These are the types of defensive plays that make Springe worth playing, at least for a few minutes each game.

1. Crunch-time miscues on defense

Once again, the Sixers did not look crisp down the stretch of the game. Mishaps on both sides of the ball turned a one-point deficit into 10 points in the final six minutes.

Two shooting fouls from Melton, a brutal turnover from Embiid that led to the fast break that featured one of those fouls and plenty of missed shots spoiled the Sixers' chance to steal a win. On this play, the Celtics get another triple as Al Horford punctuates another win over Embiid with a taunting, blown kiss.

The big problem here is that Maxey has nowhere to go after he and Covington double White. The ball gets to Tatum and he makes an easy read to Horford in the corner while Maxey is in no man's land. Although Maxey is out of position after the double-team, so is Harris. Once his side becomes the weak side (the side without the ball), he has to slide down further to the paint. He stays close to Holiday here and it forces Embiid to have to tag the roller, opening up Horford for the shot.

The Sixers were obviously going to lose their winning streak at some point and they are down two key rotation players. Nonetheless, the fashion in which they fell out of close games has not been great to see.