The Philadelphia 76ers used their size advantage to overpower the Boston Celtics for a 115-109 road win. Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers with 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Celtics were led by 29 points from Kemba Walker, including 21 of them in the first half.
The 76ers played through their bigs most of the night, as Tobias Harris and Mike Scott joined Embiid in big games. Scott had the hot-hand from deep, as he knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers for 15 points. Harris finished with a good all-around night, as he scored 23 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists.
It was a rough night for Jayson Tatum on both ends of the floor, until he hit a couple of three-pointers late in the game. Overall, Tatum finished with 15 points on just 5-of-18 from the floor. Jaylen Brown had a quiet night as well with only eight points on nine field goal attempts.
Gordon Hayward played after being forced from Wednesday’s game early. Hayward keyed the third quarter scoring for Boston and finished with 19 points on the night.
Overall, Boston’s normally good defense wasn’t on display. Multiple times during the game Brad Stevens implored his team to play harder and to take their effort to another level, but the Celtics never answered the coach’s call. Philadelphia shot 50% both overall and from behind the arc, which is far above what Boston usually allows their opponents.
On the other end of the floor, The 76ers were able to lock in defensively in the second half, as they held the Celtics to 39% shooting after halftime. Boston’s normally good ball movement disappeared, as the Celtics devolved into mostly 1-on-1 play in the third and fourth quarters.
The Celtics will now have five days off to regroup before they next play on Wednesday, December 18th at the Dallas Mavericks.