Boston Celtics Sit at the top of Eastern conference standings after thrashing Philadelphia 76ers
In a matchup between the early leaders in the Eastern Conference, Derrick White scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to help the Boston Celtics defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-107 on Wednesday night.
With Porzingis (right knee contusion) and Jaylen Brown (non-COVID illness) sidelined, Jayson Tatum led the Celtics (9-2) with a game-high 29 points and Jrue Holiday added 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists.
White, who was 7 out of 12 from the floor, stated, “Everyone has to step it up a little bit.” Obviously, you can’t do what guys like K.P. and J.B. do. However, you have to pick up your game a little bit, and I believe that many guys picked up their game tonight.
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid both scored 20 points apiece to lead Philadelphia (8-3), who were playing its third game in four nights and its second game in a back-to-back. That total was significantly less than the average for both seasons’ scoring. The Sixers appeared to be playing with exhausted legs for the majority of the game, finding it difficult to adjust their defense as the Boston Celtics swung the ball around.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said, “We were not able to get into things as crisply as we would like to because of the physicality on the ball.” Coming off a back-to-back like that isn’t always easy, and it took us a minute to settle into the game. We may have dug ourselves a hole by giving up some easy offense, in my opinion.
Early in the fourth quarter, White assumed control of the offense by dribbling toward the hoop and alternating between penetration and outside shots, which appeared to unnerve Philadelphia’s defense.https://x.com/celtics/status/1724981917085213070?s=20
Although I didn’t say it in those exact words, Joe Mazzulla, the head coach of Boston, acknowledged that. His efficiency in the matchups we had was extremely high. It’s also a good, effective play for us when we can get him into those pick and rolls with his right hand. He’s one of those players who just turns up and scores a huge point.
In place of Brown and Porzingis, Sam Hauser and Al Horford had successful games. Horford, a seasoned player who has adapted to bench life, scored 14 points and helped block a driving layup by Maxey, which resulted in White making a game-winning 3-pointer with 4:47 remaining to give the Boston Celtics a seven-point lead. Horford was 4 for 8 from beyond the 3-point arc for a Celtics team that at one point in the game extended their lead to 17 points.
Horford remarked, “The starting and the not starting is the only difference.” Apart from that, I spend most of my time doing this. I’m attempting to do everything I can to support our team, even if it means guarding the perimeter, guarding the post, generating energy in various ways, and making threes.
Embiid was a minus-25 in his 34 minutes on the court after being placed on the injury report for the second straight game due to left hip soreness. After scoring 36 points in the second quarter, Philadelphia’s potent offense was limited to just 49 points in the second half.
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