BOSTON — The Celtics didn’t get what they needed this vacation season and unwrapped a tricky defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day at TD Backyard.
Joel Embiid returned and suited up for Philadelphia whereas Jrue Vacation was inactive with a proper shoulder impingement, however the Celtics entered the competition due for a response. The reigning champions, over their previous 10 video games, have been one of many NBA’s weakest 3-point capturing threats, rating twenty second in 3-point proportion and setting the stage for an intriguing Jap Convention rival matchup.
Boston didn’t have it simple and did not climate the storm of Tyrese Maxey and Embiid combining to attain 60 factors, which dropped the C’s the workforce to 22-8 with back-to-back losses on the season.
Listed below are three studs and three duds from Boston’s 118-114 loss to Philadelphia:
STUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum obtained proper again to work, shaking off his Monday night time absence (as a consequence of sickness) and reclaimed his position as Boston’s head honcho.
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The 26-year-old recorded double-double No. 15 this season, scoring a team-leading 32 factors with 15 rebounds and 4 assists. Tatum’s loud return to the court docket gave Boston simply sufficient life to struggle till the ultimate buzzer but it surely nonetheless wasn’t sufficient.
Tyrese Maxey
Each Christmas season somebody has to play the position of the Grinch, proper?
Nicely, that’s what Maxey completed for the Sixers because the 24-year-old was unstoppable within the first half, scoring 18 factors whereas doling out eight assists. Maxey accomplished the double-double by night time’s finish, ending with a game-high 33 factors with 12 assists to go along with 4 rebounds and three steals.
Maxey was a pest for the Celtics throughout the ground from begin to end.
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Luke Kornet
The Celtics didn’t get very a lot from their bench within the scoring division, however Kornet made essentially the most of his time to contribute.
Kornet collected 10 rebounds, together with 4 on the offensive glass, together with six factors, two rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes. The 7-foot reserve introduced Joe Mazzulla’s pregame encouragement to be energetic in defending the rim, particularly offensively, to open the door for second-chance factors and stood tall on the forefront of that effort.
DUDS
Boston’s first-half self-discipline
The Sixers have been hunters within the first and second quarters, awaiting each Celtics miscue to capitalize on. Boston dedicated eight turnovers to Philadelphia’s one, giving Nick Nurse’s crew a quick-and-easy 9-2 scoring enhance which went a good distance as soon as the Sixers took a 66-58 halftime lead earlier than the beginning of the third body.
Jaylen Brown’s ice-cold begin
It was a colossally horrid opening half for Brown and it took an early toll on the Celtics.
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The three-time All-Star entered halftime after tallying simply two factors on 1-of-8 capturing from the ground and was credited for half of Boston’s turnovers (4). Brown did, nonetheless, recuperate within the second half in each aspects to log 23 factors with seven rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnovers — a game-high mark that almost matched Philaldelphia’s whole (6).
Payton Pritchard
The front-running candidate for Sixth Man of the Yr struggled to offer the Celtics what they wanted off the bench as Pritchard was a no-show from three.
Pritchard shot 1-of-9 from the ground and got here up empty on all eight of his 3-point makes an attempt, ending with a measly 4 factors and recording a minus-10 score. The 26-year-old stays due for a bounce-back efficiency for the Celtics shifting ahead and heading into Friday night time’s convention finals rematch towards the Indiana Pacers.
