Important Stats: Celtics 117, 76ers 107
A lot will be written, heard, and seen about Al Horford’s show tonight in Philadelphia. But for now, let’s just talk regarding one time when he was right in the middle of something that changed the game.
The whole game was close; the winner would depend on which team was able to execute the biggest plays in the last few minutes.
At 1:30 left, Horford made one of those important plays when he stopped Robert Covington’s shot during what looked like an open layup that the basket.
Joel Embiid set up the play by sending a beautiful pass down the left wing to Covington, that was standing along the sideline.
While Horford was protecting Covington, Boston’s big man enjoyed his eyes on Embiid to see if he could help guard Sam Hauser, that was in a cross-match with the reigning MVP.
Horford reacted right away and blocked Covington’s layup attempt. He then fell to the floor to grab the loose ball and pass it to Jrue Holiday, who was close.
Then, Boston carefully did a number of things on the other end of the court, which resulted in Derrick White driving to the paint and pulling all five of Philadelphia’s defenders toward him.
All-NBA Initially Team member Jayson Tatum was then free to shoot a 3-pointer from the right side. The superstar made it without touching the basket.
With 1:11 left on the clock, that three-pointer made it 113-105 and pretty much sealed Boston’s win. Horford started the run with great defense and got his fifth block for the night.
White finished it off via a beautiful rim read, and Tatum put the Sixers asleep with a swish of the net.
The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117–107 on Wednesday night. Derrick White scored 14 out of his 27 points during the fourth quarter to help his team stay ahead within the Eastern Conference.
For the Celtics (9-2), Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and Jrue Holiday added 18 points, 10 boards, and three assists.
Jaylen Brown (a non-COVID illness) as well as Kristaps Porzingis (a right knee contusion) were not in the game because they were sick.
White, who made only 7 of 12 shots from the floor, said, “Everyone needs to step it up a bit.” “You can’t do what guys like J.B. and K.P. do,” he said. However, you need to step it up a bit. I believe that many of the guys did that tonight.
The 76ers (8-3) played their second game in a row and their third game in four nights. Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey each scored 20 points for Philadelphia.
That number was a lot less than what both teams normally score during the season. It looked like the Sixers’ legs were tired for most of the night, and they had trouble adjusting to the Celtics’ fast-paced offense.
“Because of the rough play on the ball, we weren’t able to get to things as quickly as we would have liked,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said.
“It’s not always easy to play after a back-to-back, and it took us just a moment to get started with the game.” I believe we made things harder for ourselves by giving up some easy attack.
Early within the fourth quarter, White took over the offense. He ran to the basket and made shots from inside and outside the arc that caught Philadelphia’s defenders off guard.
Boston’s head coach Joe Mazzulla said, “I didn’t say it that way, but he kind of knows that.” “Because of the way we were matched up, he was very efficient.”
And those picks and rolls in his right hand work well for us when we are able to get him into them. He’s the kind of guy who simply steps up and does something great.