76ers Just Got a Brutal Reality Check From the Celtics

The Boston Celtics may have exposed the Philadelphia 76ers. 

In a matchup fueled by emotion and stars facing their former teams, it was sure to be an electric matchup. The problem is the fireworks were blown out before it even started. 

Now, the 76ers didn’t get beat outright, but the game was in the Celtics' hands no matter how much the momentum swung. Throughout most of the first half, this was a game that Paul George took over. It seemed George was the one with a chip on his shoulder while Jaylen Brown struggled throughout most of the night. 

At the start of the game, the fans got to witness Brown and Jayson Tatum go at one another on the first possession of each team. Tatum got the best of Brown on the first exchange as he forced a turnover by Brown, and it led to a Boston basket.

Philadelphia seemed to follow their usual trends of having a sluggish start before getting things going. The first half showed that. Boston was draining threes, and Paul George was the jump starter in all of this. Meanwhile, Brown missed his first few shots while Tyrese Maxey kept the team afloat as the first quarter saw the 76ers trail 30-23. The second quarter saw much of the same, including seeing Tatum continue his hot streak and George get things going.

This spelled disaster for the Philadelphia faithful as they witnessed their offense be out of sorts while their defense was shredded by fast-break points and long-range three-pointers. George scored 13 points in the second quarter, while Philadelphia scored 28 points as a team. The 76ers did have a scare as Embiid rolled his ankle at the end of the half, which caused some concern from fans in attendance.

The third quarter is when the 76ers started to look like the defensive team that had won seven games straight. Brown missed the majority of the third as he found himself in foul trouble. But that didn’t impede the 76ers from coming back off the strength of Maxey and his shooting coupled with stifling defense that forced turnovers and easy transition baskets.

The smiles didn’t last for long as George and Tatum halted any momentum as they both took over the game. Tatum dunked over LeBron James late in the third quarter, while George followed that up with a straightaway three. By the fourth quarter all momentum was lost, and the Celtics continued to pour it on, which finished with a final score of 123-101.

Maxey had 24 points while Brown finished with just 13 points on 4-9 shooting.