In a matchup of two of the best teams to start the 2023-24 season, the Philadelphia 76ers (6-1) hosted the Boston Celtics (5-2). In their first big test of the season since their season opener, the Sixers juuuust passed by a score of 106-103 and (for now) have the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Let's break down the Sixers' first matchup of the season with the Celtics.

Sixers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 10-20 FG shooting

Embiid had no better opportunity to bring out the DX Chop than on the Wells Fargo Center's WWE theme night. We didn't see it tonight but still chopped Boston in the winning effort.

Embiid ended up reverting to the “I'll do it myself” mindset a lot with the Celtics using the undersized Jrue Holiday and longtime foe Al Horford on him and cutting off his passing lanes. He used his size well and didn’t try to do too much (mostly) while also locking in on defense. His comfort when fading into midranges, as shown on the game-icing bucket, helped turn garbage into gold all night.

Tyrese Maxey: 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 11-25 FG shooting

The true sign of a Maxey breakout will be how he performs against elite defenses. Stout perimeter defenders Derrick White and Holiday being reinforced with Boston's long, tall defenders makes for a tough matchup. It's a heck of an environment for Nurse to keep hammering home the point to Maxey to keep being aggressive.

Maxey didn’t let the Celtics' physicality stand in his way in the fast break/early offense. He sized up whoever stood in his way and looked to make something happen. Slightly lower shooting efficiency be darned, this was a great performance in his first rodeo against Boston as a lead creator.

Celtics player notes:

Jayson Tatum: 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 5-13 FG shooting

Fresh off the Celtics' first loss of the season, Tatum was more of a lead connector than a do-it-all-scoring force. Part of that was him making the right read amid heavy defensive attention but even on hances he could have called his own number, he often didn’t. He played a balanced game and allowed his other teammates to do the bulk of the scoring, collecting a new season-high in boards.

Kristaps Porzingis: 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 10-16 FG shooting

Porzingis was a game-changer for Boston on offense, forcing the Sixers to rotate hard and collapse on the paint. While Embiid's size gave him fits on defense, he was the perfect play-finisher for Boston's assortment of creators even though he couldn’t get a three-pointer to go down until the fourth.

Game recap:

1st half

The Sixers have had the benefit of an easy schedule (made easier by missing two of the three Phoenix Suns stars) following their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics have been arguably the best team in the NBA to start the season. As Philly's perennial rival, this game offered a great litmus test to see how legitimate the improvements have been.

Kelly Oubre Jr. guarded Tatum to start while Tobias Harris matched up with Jaylen Brown. The Celtics went with the strategy they did last season that worked against Embiid of having a help defender close. However, they kept their one-big starting group. Holiday took Embiid while Porzingis roamed off of Harris. It worked in Philly's favor when Embiid got by Holiday and threw it down as Porzingis tried to contest. But it also meant that Embiid had little room for error when he put the ball on the floor.

Nico Batum and Patrick Beverley were the Sixers' first subs while Horford came in early for Boston — and was met with a smattering of boos — to relieve Holiday of the Embiid matchup. Porzingis' blend of size and shooting touch twisted Philly's defense into knots as the Sixers scrambled to either contest his shot or contain his presence as a vertical spacer/offensive rebounder. Embiid and Harris allowed them to keep up, though neither team shot very well to start the game.

Furkan Korkmaz had a very rough start to the game, struggling to get separation and showing the Sixers' glaring need for another ball-handler. Philly's lineup to start the second quarter (Maxey-Oubre-Harris-Batum-Paul Reed) willed its way to a 9-0 run that featured some lucky breaks and clunky possessions on offense. Reed posted up against Holiday and found his way to the hoop before Batum hit a relocation corner three to cut the deficit to two.

Maxey recorded a chase-down block on Holiday but the Sixers' defense again struggled at the point of attack, leading to kick-outs to Sam Hauser cashed in on. Boston's terrible rebounding led to Philly getting offensive rebounds and second-chance points, getting the home team back ahead. Reed had a pair of OREBs in his stint alone as he and Oubre each threw down putback slams.

The composure Maxey showed in his ball handling was impressive to see. He hit a pair of quick threes, though an off-ball foul from White actually wiped one off the board because it happened before the shot. To make matters worse, Batum dislocated his finger trying to block a Porzingis dunk from behind. He was still available to return after getting his finger evaluated during halftime but he had to come right out of the game.

Maxey shook free from Holiday and hit a buzzer-beating floater to put the Sixers up 61-54 at the break.

2nd half

The Celtics went back to Holiday on Embiid while Boston tried to get Brown going with some post-ups on Maxey but to no avail. Embiid hunted the matchup onto other guys and used his gigantic body to get space in the paint. One such post on up Porzingis gave him his third foul of the night, though he was playing with three himself by the opening minutes of the half, too.

Embiid again had himself an important third quarter, contributing numerous key buckets with the Celtics threatening to take the lead. He wasn’t scoring 29 with no misses — not against an actual good team — but he was finishing hectic possessions with sound, smooth scores.

Batum didn’t miss his shift to sub in midway through the third quarter. Both sides went scoreless for over two minutes before Embiid sunk a three off of a second-chance opportunity. Oubre scored a few tough buckets to extend the lead as Porzingis bricked a dunk, leading to a possession that ended with another second-chance triple, this one from Robert Covington. The third quarter ending with a PatBev floater over Porzingis and an Embiid block energized the home crowd and put the Sixers up by 10.

Maxey got a pair of shots early in the fourth quarter to fall. Reed exposed Brown's ball-handling deficiency (and/or decision-making) by forcing him into a trap at halfcourt that led to a breakaway slam. Holiday and Porzingis helped Boston stick around as Maxey, even with both Holiday and White in the game, got Philly good looks (many of which were his own). The growth he has made in his game was apparent.

Embiid came back in with a seven-point lead and 6:25 left and immediately fed Maxey for a triple off the wing. The Sixers put the pressure on by getting out to run after Boston misses. They stood firm on defense, playing Covington with the starters instead of Oubre to make sure his quick hands could slow the Celtics down — which they did. Maxey assisted Harris for three to put Philly up by 15 with under four minutes remaining.

The Celtics, however, did not die. They turned up the defensive intensity and made it a four-point game with 61 seconds left. Maxey committed a pair of shooting fouls and Boston forced turnovers. Embiid hit a fallaway shot over Tatum in single coverage to push the lead up, talking trash to Sam Cassell, one of his former assistant coaches who's now on Joe Mazzulla's staff.

Brown drained a pull-up triple to cut it to three and then blocked a jumper from Maxey, resulting in a shot-clock violation. On the ensuing possession, Porzingis missed an open pull-up three. Game.

Random rumblings:

  • That Batum injury was not pretty. If you missed it but dare to see how his finger dislocated, be my guest.

The Sixers will hit the road and face the Detroit Pistons on Friday for their first In-Season Tournament game.