Boston — Before Tyrese Maxey could take his usual fourth-quarter break, Tobias Harris made a crucial three-pointer that surprisingly cut the Celtics’ lead to just two points.
Then Boston’s run of goals started. Conversely, the Sixers just stopped making baskets.
Tuesday night at TD Garden, the Celtics decisively squashed the Sixers’ rally attempt with 16 straight points, winning 117-99.
Regarding the Celtics, Sixers coach Nick Nurse said, “They really started putting their head down and getting to the basket or drawing fouls, just kind of consistently.” Additionally, we had a few ineffective offensive possessions. I felt we had a few opportunities. We started a few [passes] inside but didn’t complete them. Had a few of open threes that were unsuccessful as well.
“After that, it was just defense during the transition, and they were very aggressive when they went to the hoop to score or to the free throw line.”
The 46-12 Celtics, who appeared ready to easily clinch the top postseason seed in the Eastern Conference, had won nine straight games. Since January 22, when Joel Embiid, the current NBA Most Valuable Player, had a knee injury that needed surgery earlier this month, the Sixers (33-25) have fallen to 4-12. Less than a week after returning from a back injury that kept him out for more than a month, reserve guard De’Anthony Melton departed the game due to back spasms on Tuesday, giving them more bad news on his health.
Following the game, Nurse stated, “We’re definitely worried that it’s the same problem because we’ve taken a lot of time off to try to get it to a position [where it is] in a better spot. However, I haven’t actually received a report on that as of yet.
Maxey ended with five assists and 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting. However, it was remarkable that the Sixers’ fourth-quarter surge happened while the All-Star point guard was sitting.
After an old-fashioned three-point play by undrafted rookie Ricky Council IV to start the quarter, reserve guard Cameron Payne scored eight straight points. With less than nine minutes left, Harris made a deep 3-pointer to bring the Sixers within 91-89.
However, Jrue Holiday of Boston responded with a jump shot, starting a run that saw the Celtics’ lead grow to 20 points in the final minutes.
After shooting 37.3% through three quarters, the Sixers made a brief surge in the fourth, which gave the Celtics the opportunity to build their first double-digit lead with an 11-0 run to begin the third. Additionally, despite the fact that the Sixers’ offensive misfire against the Celtics defense—which came into the game ranked third in the league in efficiency—was a part of their larger decline on that end of the court in the absence of Embiid.
