The Philadelphia 76ers (52-27) hosted the Boston Celtics (54-23) in one of their biggest matchups of the regular season. Needing a win to keep their hopes at the Eastern Conference's second seed alive, the Sixers beat the Celtics for the first time this season by a score of 103-101.
Let's break down the Sixers' win over the Celtics.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 52 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 20-25 FG shooting
Now that's an MVP statement.
Each of Embiid's buckets was different from the next and he hardly missed. Going with a short, strong defender on Embiid plus a roaming center made sense after Embiid pummeled Al Horford in their last meeting but even the slightest height advantage makes Embiid nearly impossible to stop. Automatic jumper after automatic jumper to go along with strong defense, rebounding and playmaking.
James Harden: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 7-17, FG shooting
Harden didn't let Marcus Smart's tough defense get to him like he did with Jrue Holiday. His partnership with Embiid shined bright as he assisted him on plenty of buckets, particularly at the end of the first half. Without the big fella, he was not very effective, and it was part of the reason why he had to go super-hero mode.
Tyrese Maxey: 5 points, 4 rebounds,1 assist, 2-8 FG shooting
No other title contender has given Maxey as many problems as the Celtics have this season. Breaking out a new headband look didn't change that, as evidenced by the fact that he ditched it at halftime. He just couldn't get his shots to fall.
Celtics player notes:
Jayson Tatum: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 7-19 FG shooting
Jaylen Brown was ruled out due to lower back pain and, although his absence was previously not an issue for the Celtics, it certainly makes life harder for Tatum. He led the offense at times but was also a play finisher on many occasions, taking advantage of his teammates' passing with good cuts.
Derrick White: 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 9-18 FG shooting
After a so-so first half, White had stepped up in the second half, hitting numerous big shots. He also made some incredible defensive plays in fast breaks to stop buckets as he trailed the play. If he isn't shooting woefully from the field in the playoffs like he did last year, he's gonna be a serious problem for opponents.
Malcolm Brogdon: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-16 FG shooting
Brogdon's scoring punch from the bench gave the Celtics a big lift. He also gifted the Sixers fans free chicken nuggets with a pair of free-throw line misses.
Game recap:
1st half
The Celtics were without Brown and Robert Williams III against a healthy Sixers team. They moved Grant Williams into the starting lineup and matched up with Embiid while Horford played off of P.J. Tucker (who, of course, took the Tatum assignment). Embiid took it right to him with a drive that yielded free throws, a fadeaway bucket, a one-handed push shot and a layup out of a smooth Dream Shake. He was a pure highlight reel right out of the gate, pouring on 18 points in the first quarter.
Embiid also helped the Sixers start out strong on defense. Boston made just three of its first 12 shots, failing to find any weak points in the Philly defense as Embiid manned the middle. Maxey had a very clean strip on Tatum in the fast break just like the play he made against Giannis Antetokounmpo on Sunday. The Celtics eventually found their footing thanks to Malcolm Brogdon, who infused the offense with a little more tempo. Embiid was still there to pull off unreal shots like this, though.
Despite looking out of his depths in previous matchups with the Celtics, Georges Niang was one of the first players off the bench. Doc Rivers did sub him out on a defensive possession on the last play of the first quarter (in favor of Danuel House Jr.) but went right back to him to start the second. Brogdon continued to cook while Harden failed to get the offense going. The Sixth Man of the Year candidate sliced through the defense time after time and had no issues letting a shot go from the midrange.
The Sixers went to Embiid and Harden isos with the starting lineup back in. It felt like Philly either strung together a great sequence of ball movement where four or five guys touched the ball or one guy took the entire possession for himself. Eventually, the EmBeard two-man game got going, freeing up shots for both guys.
At the break, the Sixers led 53-46 with Embiid and Harden accounting for 39 of those points.
2nd half
The Sixers took two and a half minutes to score their first points of the half, which came from none other than Embiid as he shot over Williams. The Celtics just couldn't stop him. He got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it no matter who stepped. up to him. But the Sixers struggled to stop them as they converted from deep time after time. Their offense when Embiid didn't shoot the ball was not pretty but the big man was so freaking good that they managed to stay ahead entering the fourth quarter.
While Embiid made the Celtics look like a collegiate defense, the rest of the team hardly showed up, which is concerning. The team around Embiid shot 13-43 through three quarters and half of those buckets came from Harden. Jalen McDaniels made two of his three attempts and Tucker made his only attempt by that point. Philly's role players shooting so poorly in the last tune-up game of the season may just have been one bad outing. But it's one that the Sixers will hope is not foreshadowing of any type in a potential playoff matchup.
Blake Griffin made his way into the game for the first time to start the fourth quarter as the Celtics took the lead back. The Sixers offense continued to look ugly without Embiid, even with Harden in. The big fella had to check back in with over eight minutes left but he looked as unfazed as ever, swishing middies like they were nothing. Getting the ball to him near the foul line was basically free points.
Tucker hit a pair of triples out of passes from Embiid to push the Sixers' lead to multiple possessions. By the way, when he wasn't scoring at will, Embiid was also finding his teammates on the perimeter for easy threes all throughout the game. The Celtics responded with some big triples of their own to stay in it and then Embiid and Tucker linked up for another triple. A hectic final minute featured an offensive foul from Embiid on an inbound that gave Boston the ball down two with 2.0 seconds left but the Sixers held on.
The Celtics continue to look like the worst playoff matchup for the Sixers. Their role players seem to have answers that Philly's doesn't even as Tatum is held in check. If it's gonna take Embiid being this amazing to win (without Brown), it's gonna be extremely, extremely tough to win four times against them in seven games.
Random thoughts:
- Tatum continued his quest to emulate Kobe Bryant by showing off some soccer skills with the basketball before the game.
The Sixers' regular-season home finalé is on Thursday against the Miami Heat.
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