Playing the Celtics for the third time this season, the Sixers had quite the task as they were without Embiid for the second straight game. Thanks to a near-perfect performance from Justin Edwards, Philadelphia secured a tough victory and advanced to 7-4.
The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are very familiar with each other so far this season, meeting for the third time in 11 games. After the Sixers' 117-116 win over the Celtics on opening night, Boston tied the season series with a 109-108 victory on Halloween. Unlike the first two matchups, the Sixers will be without Joel Embiid in this one.
The Celtics sit at 5-6 so far this season, so not their usual standard, but Jaylen Brown has been a bright spot for the squad, averaging 28 points per game. That said, regardless of whether the Celtics are 11-0 or 0-11, the Sixers always need to wake up when it's Boston.
First Quarter
The Philadelphia offense got off to a fast start with four of five starters getting on the board within the first five minutes. Andre Drummond slammed home the game's first basket while Trendon Watford provided a quick five of the Sixers' first 14 points. Tyrese Maxey was the assist man on all three baskets for the big men.
After an early 11-3 run from Philadelphia, Boston responded with Anfernee Simons and Sam Hauser knocking down threes. While that helped cut the lead, a Maxey three and a Derrick White airball forced the Celtics to use their first timeout of the matchup. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is known for their three-point-heavy system, but ranked 27th in the NBA in three-point percentage this season. While they average the seventh most made threes a night, they're only connecting on 32.7 percent of them.
The 76ers held just a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Maxey led all scorers with eight points and four assists through one.
Second Quarter
VJ Edgecombe has been having a rough go around the past week and started this game 0/5 as well, but finally connected with a three at the 8:25 mark in the second to get on the board and put the Sixers back in front.
However, the real story of the second quarter was Justin Edwards coming off the bench and adding nine points in the quarter for the Sixers. After a DNP against Detroit in their last outing, Edwards' confidence seems unfazed as he knocked down a pair of triples and finished a tough and-one. Edwards was the main factor in Philadelphia's 15-2 run.
The Sixers were able to keep a 51-41 lead going into the half. Philadelphia did a great job on Brown through 24 minutes of ball, as Brown was held to 1/7 from the field. Aside from the Edwards scoring burst, Drummond was a real mainstay of the offense for Philadelphia with 10 points and seven rebounds at halftime.
Third Quarter
The 76ers started the third quarter similarly to their other third quarters this season. The Celtics went on a 10-2 run coming out of the locker room, with Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh getting blocks and dunks to forefront the run.
Coming out of the Sixers' timeout, Brown was able to knock down a fadeaway two, and White added his first three. The Celtics were seemingly all the way out of their first-half shooting slump. Drummond was able to put back a Maxey miss to end an 11-0 Boston run.
After watching their lead disappear for parts of the quarter, Maxey was able to land the first three in nearly 15 minutes of game play for Philadelphia. This was Maxey's third three of the game, but he was only shooting 4/11 to this point.
The Sixers were outscored 32-23 in the third quarter, and Boston ended the quarter on a 14-5 run. Edgecombe continued to struggle, going scoreless in the quarter. As for the Celtics, White scored 13 points, hitting three threes and missing just one shot in the quarter. Brown also found his groove with 14 3rd-quarter points, including a long ball. Quinten Grimes hit a 44-footer to prevent the hole from being worse than it was. Grimes quietly had 11 points through three quarters.
Fourth Quarter
The 76ers lead the entire NBA with a 28.0 fourth-quarter net rating, and they would need to put this on display if they wanted to win. These teams are two of the top six teams in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring.
Grimes scored a quick seven points to start the fourth quarter, and Edwards rejoined the party with four points of his own. Each of their baskets was needed as now, Simons was the Celtic starting to get hot after a slow start. Simons scored ten points to start the quarter while hitting two three-pointers.
Edwards knocked down three more threes to push his total to 22 points for the game and was a perfect 8/8 from the field. The Sixers held a 93-92 lead, and Edwards' flame-throwing of a quarter forced Mazzulla into a timeout.
After a miserable shooting performance from Edgecombe, he finally knocked down his second three-pointer to give the Sixers a four-point lead with 2:20 to go. The Celtics would eventually tie the game at 100. Edwards was unable to cash in on the go-ahead three, but Kelly Oubre Jr. was able to back his man up with the putback, with 8.7 seconds remaining in the game.
After a failed game-winning three from White, the Sixers walked away with a 102-100 point victory and improved to 7-4 on the season.
On Deck
The 76ers travel to Detroit looking to avenge their most recent loss against the Pistons. Tip-off starts at 7:30 pm EST.