After staring the possibility of 0-4 in the face heading into Monday night, the Celtics (3-3) have got this thing heading in the right direction for the first time in 2025-26.

After blowing their game against the 76ers (4-1) on opening night, Boston emerged victorious against their Atlantic Division rival on Halloween in Philadelphia, beating the Sixers 109-108 marking the second straight game these two teams have played where the winner was only victorious by a single point.

The Celtics not only stretched their winning streak to three games - the second-longest active streak in the Eastern Conference - they also delivered Philadelphia its first loss of the season.

Four Boston players reached at least 15 points: Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, and Jaylen Brown, who led the way with 32 points and 6 assists. Tyrese Maxey continued his hot start to the season, dropping 26 points and 14 assists, while Joel Embiid showed some life with 20 points of his own.

Here’s ‘5 Takeaways” from Friday night’s win at Xfinity Mobile Arena:

1. The NBA Cup is Back!

Friday’s matchup also marked the start of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup - the third edition of the league’s midseason tournament.

For those who don’t know what’s going on (like myself until I did the research), here’s the skinny:

- The event features two phases: Group Play and Knockout Rounds. Teams were divided into five-team groups within each conference based on their 2024-25 regular season records. The Celtics landed in East Group B with the Nets (0-5), Pistons (3-2), Magic (2-4), and 76ers.

- Each team will play four Group Play games - one against every opponent in its group, split evenly between home and road contests. “Cup Nights” will occur every Friday from October 31 to November 28, with extra games on November 25 and 26. Only Group Play matchups are held on those nights.

- The best team from each group plus one wild card per conference (the best second-place team) advance to single-elimination Knockout Rounds.

- Quarterfinals take place in home markets, while the Semifinals and Championship will be held in Las Vegas.

- Every Cup game counts toward regular-season standings, except the title game.

Got it? OK, let’s get back to Friday’s game.

2. Celtics Keep Up Fast Starts

Quick starts have become a trademark of this Boston team. They stormed out to a 38-25 lead after the first quarter, going 16 of 26 from the field (61.5%) and 5 of 13 from deep (38.5%), while committing only 1 turnover. The 76ers shot 8 of 18 (44.4%), and gave the ball away 4 times, leading to 7 crucial Celtics points.

Brown and Pritchard combined for 24 points in the first frame, nearly outscoring Philadelphia by themselves.

Through six games, the Celtics have topped 30 points in the opening quarter five times, with scores of 28, 30, 33, 34, 40, and 38. They’ve shot at least 50% in every first quarter (79 of 144), assisting on 42 of those makes (53.1%), and own a +38 first-quarter margin for the season.

They’ve been great out of the gate! It’s the rest of the game that keeps getting away from them.

3. Bend, Don’t Break

Boston built a commanding 24-point lead with 3:34 left in the second quarter, but Philadelphia responded with a 17–4 burst to close the half.

By 6:40 in the third quarter, the 76ers had tied the game - a 32-8 run in all.

Even as the momentum swung, the Celtics held firm and never surrendered the lead. It was a textbook “bend but don’t break” outing - not their cleanest performance, but one that showed resilience down the stretch.

To be honest, it kind of reminded me of the reverse of what we’ve seen from the Patriots defense through eight games this NFL season. They’ve played bend-don’t-break defense to open the game almost every week, eventually shutting their opponents down as the game moves along.

I’m not saying one is better than the other, but one of these two teams is 6-2 with an MVP-candidate, and the other started the season 0-3…

4. Hugo!

A defining moment came when Pritchard knocked the ball loose, sending it rolling up the baseline. Rookie Hugo Gonzalez sprinted and dove to keep it alive - a play that embodied his effort all night (think Jeter diving into the stands, except this was added effort that was actually needed to make the play, not just getting bloody for the cameras).

Gonzalez finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in 14:33, posting a +10 rating. Beyond the stats, his energy, defense, and hustle were contagious, helping shift momentum multiple times.

I love this kid, and I want Mazzulla to finally unlock him at some point in the next few games.

Play Hugo, Joe!

5. Kudos to Jaylen Brown

Turnovers aside, Brown continued his stellar start to the season with 32 points on 13 of 19 shooting, going 4 for 7 from three with 6 assists, 3 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Through six games, he’s averaging 27.7 PPG on 55% shooting overall and 48.7% from three, along with 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He’s topped 30 points in three contests already - production that has him looking like an early All-NBA candidate.

We knew this was going to be the year he needed to step up as lead-banana, and so far that’s exactly what he’s done. And with his team on a mini heater, it’s looking his high-level of play is actually starting to elevate the players around him - the mark of a true superstar

Lingering Thoughts & Nuggets

- The “Anfernee Simons 6th Man Experience” has been an absolute joy game-to-game thus far. He poured in 19 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 28 minutes of action. Though his shooting lines (7-21 FG, 3-9 3PT) weren't ideal, his +23 rating led all players. He’s reached double figures in every game this year and has scored 15+ twice. Still adapting to Boston’s system, Simons continues to provide a reliable scoring punch off the bench, showing why Brad Stevens received so much praise for acquiring Simons as the return in the Jrue Holiday trade this summer.

- White and Pritchard are still working to regain last season’s perimeter touch. White shot 2 of 7 from deep Friday, while Pritchard went 1 of 9. So far this season, White is 16 of 63 (25.4%), and Pritchard is 8 of 46 (17.4%) from three. Both ranked among the NBA’s top five in made threes last year, each surpassing 250 makes. White hit 38.4% and Pritchard 40.7%. When their shots start falling again, as history suggests they will, Boston’s offense could reach another level. Until then, it remains streaky.

- Speaking of ugly - the picture the Amazon broadcast provides is the opposite of that. Just like with Thursday Night Football, no network is doling out a higher picture quality right now then the company that facilitates your toilet paper rolls landing on your doorstep in a timely manner. Weird times.

Next up for the Celtics - Boston now returns to TD Garden for a three-game homestand, beginning Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. ET against the Houston Rockets (2-2).

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.