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Credit to the rook for even keeping them in this game.
The Sixers’ three-game win streak was snapped with a 114-98 loss to the Boston Celtics Sunday night. They are now 33-27, still one game up in the loss column for the East’s sixth seed thanks to a loss earlier in the day from the Orlando Magic.
Tyrese Maxey, who got going as the second half progressed, led all scorers with 33 shooting 12-of-34 from the floor along with six assists. VJ Edgecombe, with a stellar 5-of-11 night from deep, dropped 23 points along with five rebounds.
Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta led the Celtics with 27 apiece.
Joel Embiid missed his first of at least three games with an oblique strain.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- It was quite a flashy start, with Maxey and Edgecombe each nailing their first pull-up threes of the game. Maxey shook his defender with a good crossover on two possessions in a row — he nailed the midrange J but missed that three-point attempt.
- Offensive rebounding was a problem from the jump, with Boston grabbing four within the first five minutes of the game. There were plenty of Celtics bricks to grab early, and the Sixers’ quick pace covered that up for the time being.
- Adem Bona gave the Sixers a shot in the arm down low, but similar to Andre Drummond his contributions were more on the offensive end. He was the only Sixer to score for a four-minute stretch as they conceded a 10-1 run. Dominick Barlow nailed and a catch-and-shoot jumper to end that, but he was inside the arc so the Sixers held just a two-point lead after one.
Second Quarter
- For the non-Maxey minutes, Nick Nurse went with all the bench ball-handlers alongside Edgecombe. Quentin Grimes missed his first two pull-ups while Trendon Watford made his first pair of push shots that kept the offense afloat. Cam Payne just picked up one assist in his first four minutes of action.
- Drummond made his first three of the night, but he really struggled on the other end, chasing around Queta who was suddenly flirting with a 20-point half. This game again exposed how thin they are at center when Embiid is out of the lineup, with Bona picking up his third foul to boot.
- The Sixers went nearly four minutes without a field goal after that Drummond three. Maxey already began to teeter before he left the game and then missed several tough shots when he checked back in. He finally got a tough and-1 floater towards the end of the half. Drummond knocked down another three, but got T’d up for his celebration. Another overaggressive double team led to Brown kicking out to an open three at the buzzer, one that put the Celtics up by 12.
Third Quarter
- Two quick threes to start the second half gave Boston their largest lead of the night. A four-point play from Edgecombe was a good response, and Maxey followed with a trip to the line, but both followed with missed shots in the paint, ending their brief momentum.
- Edgecombe has been shooting really well on pull-ups in the midrange as of late but it was behind the arc in this one. To say it was all they had was an understatement — through three quarters, only three of his teammates had also made a three-pointer.
- His only help for much of the quatrer was Barlow. His three steals helped the 14 points he had, but he was aggressive enough to get to the line eight times as well. Maxey finally got some baskets to go with fast break layups and runners. He threw a really nice skip pass on one break to Grimes, and hit a tough stepback three to get the Sixers within six points.
Fourth Quarter
- Both starters in the backcourt stayed out there to start the quarter and each knocked down another three, but their flurries showed just what it took to keep the lead where it was, much less eat into it. The aggressive double teams didn’t stop against the Celtics, the most three-point hunting team in the league, and the Sixers paid for it again and again.
- They were in no position to risk it, but the Sixers picked up an extremely weak flagrant midway through the fourth. Queta hit Edgecombe hard with a screen but drew no foul, so Kelly Oubre Jr. gave Queta a hard push in retaliation. In ref wars though the Sixers at least got one back a few possessions later. After trying all game Edgecombe finally drew an offensive foul on a Brown push off. No one got the worst of it though than the fan Edgecombe inadvertently kicked leaping into the crowd to save a loose ball.
- Nikola Vucevic killed Bona earlier in the quarter stepping out, and Queta continued to kill Drummond with the starters in down the stretch. On top of his 10 offensive rebounds, he continued to beat the Sixers defense and force them to put him on the line. Finally in the last minutes of this game the Celtics put the game away in a way it felt like they should have way earlier in the half.