With a determined Joël Embiid, the Sixers stifle the Celtics from the start by quickly taking an 8-point lead (10-2). Deprived of Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams, Boston pulls itself together, and even catches up in the space of a few minutes (14-14). Driven by its audience, Philadelphia finished the first quarter better (28-22).
Joël Embiid on the bench, the Celtics take the opportunity to catch up, and even go ahead thanks to Derrick White (31-30). The rest of the quarter is a mano a mano, with two teams going blow for blow. Author of 24 points and 10 rebounds, Joël Embiid allows his team to return to the locker room with a 7-point lead (53-46).
On a 3-point shot, Al Horford brings the Celtics to 3-point (53-50). Jayson Tatum’s teammates are starting to gradually gain the psychological upper hand, against the Sixers who are only holding on to the individual exploits of Joël Embiid. All the same, Philadelphia remains in front with the score of a short head (68-65). Carried by the 38 points and 12 rebounds of the Cameroonian, the Sixers have a 5-point lead at the start of the 4th quarter (72-67).
Boston starts the last quarter perfectly with a 10-2, and takes a 3-point lead on a long distance basket signed Malcolm Brogdon (77-74). The Sixers are struggling to contain the opposing attacks, and Marcus Smart takes the opportunity to give his team a 5-point lead (86-81).
On a basket concluded with the fault, Joël Embiid, again and again, allows Philadelphia to regain the advantage (89-88). PJ Tucker comes out of his box at the best time by scoring two consecutive 3-point shots to give the Sixers a 6-point lead with 2 minutes remaining (95-89). Despite a final last stand on the Celtics side late in the game, the Sixers won 103-101.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Joel Embiid’s 52 points. With the absence of Robert Williams on the Celtics side, it was open bar for Jojo. And the least we can say is that the Cameroonian enjoyed himself. Faced with an opposing racket at his mercy, he was monstrous: 52 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists at 20/25 shooting! Conclusion of the evening: a victory against a prestigious opponent that he could find in the playoffs and a big message sent to voters for the MVP!
– Boston so near, so far. Clumsy, they ran behind the score all game. Despite this, they almost carried out the hold-up after taking the advantage at the start of the fourth quarter. But opposite, Joel Embiid was too strong, and the Celtics had no answer for him defensively. In addition, they had to deal with the major absences of Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams, which could have undoubtedly changed the scenario of the match.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅James Harden. Author of 20 points and 10 assists, he was perfect in his usual role as distributor.
✅Derrick White. The Celtics’ best player with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists at 50% shooting including 40% from 3-pointers.
⛔️ Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. They combined for 10 points at 4/16 shooting…
⛔️ Jayson Tatum. He was not there with poor marksmanship: 35% including 25% at 3-points.
THE FOLLOWING
Sixers (52-27): reception of the Heat on the night of Thursday to Friday (1h30).
Celtics (54-25): back-to-back with the reception of the Raptors (1h30).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
