3 observations after Sixers-Celtics season series ends with blowout Boston win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers’ efforts to even up their season series against the Celtics were in vain.
Boston earned a 123-105 victory Thursday night at TD Garden to polish off a 3-1 win in the season series.
The Sixers fell to 21-41 and the Celtics improved to 45-18.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum scored 35 points in 31 minutes.
As usual this season, the Sixers had a sizable list of injured players:
-
Paul George (left groin soreness)
-
Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain)
-
Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management)
-
Joel Embiid (season-ending left knee injury)
-
Eric Gordon (season-ending right wrist surgery)
-
Jared McCain (season-ending left lateral meniscus surgery)
Boston was also without a slew of key players on the second night of a back-to-back, including Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
The Sixers will return home and face the Jazz on Sunday night. Here are observations on their loss in Boston:
Tatum has his way vs. Edwards
After dropping 41 points the night before vs. the Trail Blazers, Derrick White made a three-pointer to open the scoring. White and Tatum totaled 28 of Boston’s 35 first-quarter points and had success against both man-to-man and zone defenses.
Meanwhile, the Sixers’ starting backcourt of Quentin Grimes and Oubre combined to miss their first eight field goals.
Justin Edwards returned to the Sixers’ starting lineup after sitting out the team’s loss Tuesday to the Timberwolves with a left ankle sprain. He was ready to roll, scoring the Sixers’ first five points on a short jumper and a swished three-pointer.
On the other end, Edwards began the game as the Sixers’ primary defender on Tatum. He certainly looked like a rookie at times with that assignment.
Edwards got caught on screens, let Tatum reject picks and penetrate into the paint, and didn’t have much luck trying to contain the six-time All-Star. Tatum put the Celtics up 33-19 with a fast-break dunk.
Boston’s bench superior
Facing the team that waived him in October, Lonnie Walker IV hit three three-pointers off the Sixers’ bench in the first quarter. Walker had his most points yet as a Sixer, recording 17.
However, the Celtics were still decisively superior in the bench scoring department.
Sixth Man of the Year favorite Payton Pritchard torched the Sixers back on Feb. 20, draining eight threes in a 28-point performance. He again produced plenty Thursday, tallying 19 points and six assists. Pritchard’s third triple extended Boston’s lead to 63-43 late in the second quarter.
The Sixers’ sloppiness (12 first-half turnovers) helped to fuel the Celtics’ bench. Rookie Baylor Scheierman posted 15 points, Torrey Craig added 12, and Boston finished the night with a 59-45 edge in second-unit scoring.
The Sixers’ bench rotation included Walker, Jared Butler, Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Adem Bona. Ricky Council IV and two-way contract player Alex Reese appeared in fourth-quarter garbage time.
Oubre‘s performance not nearly enough
After Oubre’s cold start, his shots eventually started falling. He reached his fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points when he sunk a three-pointer in the third quarter.
Oubre did his typical aggressive work as a driver and knocked out one of White’s teeth in the second quarter with an inadvertent elbow to the face. White exited the game but returned for the second half.
With Oubre leading the way, the Sixers didn’t see the game as a lost cause and played a good, spirited third quarter. An and-one Oubre hoop cut the Sixers’ deficit to 87-77.
The undermanned Sixers couldn’t sustain momentum, though. Their energy understandably dipped and Boston’s lead ballooned to 107-79 on a big Neemias Queta dunk early in the fourth quarter. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse called timeout and subbed out Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele for the night, inserting Dowtin and Reese.
As has regularly been the case this season, the Sixers had a bright spot or two but couldn’t defy the odds to pull off a shorthanded win.
Read the full article here
