Shorthanded Boston Celtics drop Philadelphia 76ers 117-107 to regain the top spot in the Eastern Conference
It’s not often a November 15th game in the NBA can be considered a big game, but tonight’s game was about as big as it gets for an early season matchup between two Eastern Conference foes battling for the top seed. Unfortunately for the Celtics, two of their biggest stars were ruled out before tip off, Kristaps Porzingis was ruled out with a knee injury and Jaylen Brown was ruled out with a sickness. On the Philadelphia side they were without Kelly Oubre who was allegedly hit by a car, but now there’s speculation around if that is true or not. Boston would need to get contributions from everyone on the roster to make up for last week’s loss to the 76ers.
This game got off to a fast start with both teams trading blows early, Joel Embiid was up to his MVP form early crashing the boards and drawing fouls. While Jayson Tatum wasn’t far behind, hitting 3’s and impacting the game defensively early. Jrue Holiday, who needed to step up offensively in Brown’s absence, did so early with 6 early points before the first timeout. The Celtics would need to go to their bench earlier than usual in this one.
Dalano Banton would be one of the firsts off the bench, and he had a big impact early with 2 points 4 rebounds and a steal in his first few minutes. This was a huge start for the Celtics, who have struggled massively this season when Tatum has left the floor, but they were able to extend their lead for once with him out until late in the first quarter. Boston had a clear agenda to run in the first quarter with Embiid and the 76ers on the second night of a back to back, they were playing catch up all quarter as the first ended with the Celtics leading 37-22.
The second quarter started with the 76ers starting to cut into the Celtics lead, but they managed to keep a 10 point lead for most of the quarter as the bench continued to play well. Philly would start to slow the game down and get more physical, with Boston cutting the lead to 47-38 halfway through the quarter. Philadelphia would continue to try and out muscle the Celtics, going on a 16-5 run to cut the lead to 52-48 with 3:18 left in the quarter. Tatum would go cold late in the quarter and Philadelphia would regain the lead 58-57 to end the half.
Boston found its stride again offensively in the third quarter with Tatum catching fire from deep, he was up to 19 points and the Celtics had an 80-73 lead with2:10 left in the quarter. It looked like the Celtics running up and down the floor was taking its toll on Embiid in this quarter, as multiple times he was walking up and down the court. Boston would find its stroke from 3-point range in this quarter, as a late Holiday 3-pointer extended the Celtics lead to 83-75 with 32 seconds left in the quarter.
The 4th quarter was what everyone expected going into this one, a high intensity, pressure filled quarter of back and forth basketball. Derrick White made his impact felt early in the quarter with multiple 3-s and defensive plays as he was up to 20 points with 7:22 left in the game. Luke Kornet was a massive positive in the 4th for the Celtics as he had back to back possessions with an offensive rebound put back dunk. Boston would catch fire late in the 4th, led by Al Horford and Tatum hitting some massive 3’s and the defensive impact of the best defensive backcourt in the league, Holiday and White. This was far and away the Celtics’ best performance of the season as every player that stepped on the floor impacted the game, and they were led late by their superstar Jayson Tatum and their seasoned veteran Al Horford getting the win 117-107. The Celtics’ next game is Friday night against the Toronto Raptors in the in season tournament, and hopefully Porzingis and Brown will be back for that one.
Scaz’s takeaways
- Boston’s bench had its best road game of the season, a much-needed positive sign
- Derrick White looked like the Derrick White of last season offensively
- Jrue Holiday can pick up the offense when needed
- Nick Nurse in game impact is much greater than Doc Rivers’ last season.
