Third Quarter
Kristaps Porzingis stepped funny on one of the first plays of the game and had a limp after. He did return to play 13 minutes in the first half, but Luke Kornet was out there to start the second half in his place, the broadcast shortly announced he was doubtful to return. Boston didn’t seem to miss him immediately as it opened the half on a 6-0 run, prompting a timeout from Nurse.
The Sixers’ offense had gone completely quiet, opening the second half shooting 2-of-15 from the floor. A big part of it was Maxey just not making the shots he did in the first half, but the offense as a whole started to play a little panicked as things started to build. George was having another poor shooting night, he was 0-6 from three from beyond the arc through three quarters.
On top of Tatum having a good night, Jaylen Brown got hot after having just two points in the first half. Brown shot 6-of-10 from the field in the third. The field goal drought was finally snapped with a baby hook by Yabusele. They were able to cobble together one more basket to keep things tied at 82 entering the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
After hardly making multiple three-pointers in a game all season, Caleb Martin hit seven tonight after hitting three on Monday. On top of that time off having recharged his batteries, it must feel nice for the Sixers to acquire a guy and not lose his Celtic-killing abilities. Maxey got going again as well as the Sixers ripped off an 18-2 run to start the quarter.
That second unit with Maxey was doing such a good job that Nurse left them out there for the first seven minutes of the quarter. For much of the game the Sixers’ defense was successful by turning the Celtics over, but for the early part of the fourth they were just missing shots.
In the blink of an eye, the Celtics ripped off an 11-0 run to suddenly make it a one possession game with just over two minutes remaining. The panic in the Sixers’ offense returned as Maxey turned it over twice at halfcourt before Nurse called a timeout.
The situation only got more concerning after Embiid was hobbling a fair bit after drawing a foul. His left foot slipped a bit on the drive and his ankle turned as a result. Hopefully it’s nothing but we’ll keep an eye on those plays for the rest of his career unfortunately.
Some free throws and an absurd layup from Maxey that beat the shot clock pushed the lead up to nine again, but two more sloppy possessions allowed the Celtics to get a couple of baskets in seconds. They should have put the game away much sooner, but they were in fact able to put it away.
As a part of their annual Disney on Ice road trip, the Sixers head out West. Their next matchup will be Saturday when they take on the Jazz in Utah at 9:30 p.m. ET.
So that’s why they say the NBA season doesn’t officially start until Christmas.
Philadelphia defeated the defending champion Boston Celtics 118-114 as the Sixers played their first game with their projected starting lineup from the offseason.
Tyrese Maxey was sensational from start to finish, leading all scorers with 33 points, shooting 12-of-23 from the field along with 12 assists. He is the first Sixer to have at least 30 points and 10 assists on Christmas.
Despite taking a scary pre-game spill, Joel Embiid finished with 27 points and nine rebounds. He shot 8-of-15 from the floor.
Caleb Martin lived up to his Celtics’ killer reputation, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Paul George struggled with 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting but hit a couple big free throws to help ice the game.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
It was a fairly quick start for both offenses. Boston’s first two makes of the game were threes from Al Horford, because of course they were. Maxey was off to an aggressive start as well with a pair of threes of his own and a drive to the basket.
It was again the Big 3 dominating the shot selection early. While Maxey’s jumpers were falling, Embiid and George each got off to 1-of-4 starts from the floor. Embiid was hanging around the perimeter a fair bit to start the game but got going with a couple of layups — the second being an and-1 he broke out the DX celebration for.
Andre Drummond was unavailable, but Guerschon Yabusele was the best option at backup center for this matchup. The Celtics almost exclusively play five-out: 16 of their 23 field goals in the first were threes. Jayson Tatum responded well to a 7-0 Philly run, but the Sixers led by five after Maxey ended the quarter with a layup.
Second Quarter
Another even start to this frame as Maxey kept his momentum going with a wide open dunk to kick things off. Yabusele responded to some Celtics’ threes with a couple of his own. The first three Caleb Martin took looked a little more clunky than they did on Monday, but it went in all the same. He and Kelly Oubre Jr. were very helpful deflecting rebounds away from Boston early on.
Shots kept falling for the Sixers as they went on an extended 17-2 run, doing a good chunk of their lead building with Embiid and George on the bench. Martin got another three to fall and had an impressive putback as he was flying all over the place. Crazy how different he looks when his entire body isn’t falling apart.
Just like the first, it was Tatum who started to close the gap as the half ended. The Celtics were pretty focused on getting Embiid out in space to attack him there and get him away from the rim. On the other end he hit a couple of midrange jumpers and a three to hold an eight-point lead at the half. The 66 points the Sixers scored was the most in a first half for them all season.
Sixers star Tyrese Maxey posted 33 points and 12 assists as his team landed a 118-114 victory over the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.
Michael Dwyer
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