It’s at all times enjoyable when the Philadelphia 76ers come to city.
The Boston Celtics earned win No. 46 on Tuesday night time because of an enormous second half, nevertheless it was Philly who got here out of the gates firing, quieting a TD Backyard crowd that was desperate to witness the most recent installment of this bitter rivalry.
New 76er Buddy Hield obtained it going from three, hitting a pair of long-range pictures and establishing Tobias Harris off a pleasant minimize for the and-1 layup. Philadelphia seemed to assault off the dribble early, opening up a slight lead earlier than the Celtics settled in and closed the hole.
Blink in opposition to Boston and also you’ve given up a 12-0 run, which is strictly what occurred because of the Jays and Kristaps Porzingis.
Derrick White propelled this mini-run on the defensive finish with a whopping three blocks within the first six minutes. For nearly every other participant within the league, that will be a wildly spectacular feat.
For Derrick White, it was simply one other Tuesday.
The Cs hunted mismatches for Porzingis by means of the high-post, which continues to be a extremely efficient technique. Posting up the Unicorn has been the only only motion within the league this 12 months, and that handed the attention check early on in Tuesday’s contest.
Porzingis completed the opening quarter with seven factors whereas Tatum and Brown additionally contributed, however the rating was tied at 30 apiece because of Tyrese Maxey, who racked up 12 of his personal. Neither squad was significantly efficient from behind the arc within the first, and every workforce racked up 18 factors within the paint. Throughout the board it was comparatively even, though Boston was sloppier with the ball.
Mazzulla opened the second quarter with a matchup zone, giving Philly a little bit of hassle on that facet of the ground. Nonetheless, the Sixers managed to remain afloat within the non-Maxey minutes, as Nick Nurse threw a bunch of various our bodies on the market searching for solutions offensively.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Cs, and Philly made them pay for it. The 76ers quickly racked up the factors, opening up a slim lead because of a barrage of buckets off of offensive rebounds.
On a constructive notice, The Jaylen Brown Present continued within the second, as he repeatedly punished Philly within the paint.
Brown completed the half with a game-high 18 factors, as Tatum and Porzingis mixed for 21 to assist in giving Boston a slim 53-51 benefit on the break. Maxey continued to cleared the path for Philly with 17, and 5 separate members of the Sixers’ bench racked up at the least three factors.
Boston’s rebounding improved to shut the half, however the true disparities that allowed their opponent to remain within the recreation got here within the turnover and three-point taking pictures departments. The Celtics racked up an unpleasant 9 giveaways, whereas the 76ers performed a comparatively clear half with simply two. From behind the arc, Boston solely made two triples — which was tied for his or her second-fewest in a single half to this point this 12 months — in comparison with Philly’s seven long-range buckets.
No matter Joe Mazzulla mentioned within the locker room at halftime obtained by means of to his gamers, as a result of the Celtics jumped out to a 13-0 run to open the third quarter. Boston’s offensive fluidity was clearly improved, however the defensive depth actually spiked to energy the run.
Brown eclipsed the 20-point mark a pair minutes into the second half and Porzingis took over from there, punishing the rim on a few events.
The Celtics attacked relentlessly each in transition and out of half-court units, and that was mirrored within the free throw disparity between the 2 squads. On the finish of the third, Boston was an environment friendly 26-29 from the charity stripe, in comparison with Philadelphia’s meager 8-9.
On paper, virtually every part labored for the Celtics within the penultimate quarter. Nonetheless, the shortage of three-point taking pictures — solely 4-15 from lengthy vary in comparison with the Sixers’ 11 triples — capped Boston’s offensive upside. Nonetheless, the Cs opened up a double-digit lead at 86-75 with 12 minutes left to play.
The Sixers got here out punching to open the fourth because of the respective efforts of Cam Payne, who hit a few threes to convey his squad inside two factors. It seemed just like the Celtics had been going to drag away after their sturdy near the third, however they did not make the most of that chance initially.
This time, it was Tatum who took over to regular the ship. The MVP candidate obtained to the road a few occasions and transformed a tricky finger roll in transition to widen his workforce’s lead as soon as once more.
An enormous 16-0 run halfway by means of the fourth shut the door for good, because the Sixers ran out of counterpunches.
When it was all mentioned and accomplished this one seemed like a blowout. The Celtics received 117-99 to increase their win streak to a season-high 9 video games, regardless of solely hitting 5 threes in the complete contest. Brown led the way in which with 31, whereas Tatum wasn’t too far behind with 29 and Porzingis racked up 23.
Subsequent up, the Celtics proceed their residence stand in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
