NBA Watch: Embiid Powers Sixers Past Celtics, 111-99

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Philadelphia 76ers played host to the Boston Celtics Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center in front of a sellout crowd and Esquire Philippines was in the City of Brotherly Love for all the action. Meeting for the third time this regular season, the Sixers got the better of their guests with a 111-99 victory. It was a clinic on defense by Philadelphia, forcing Boston to turn the ball over 20 times, 12 of which were steals, converted to 31 points off turnovers. The latter dictated the tempo of the game early on, limiting Boston to just 35 points in the first half.   

Joel Embiid led Philly with an impressive stat line of 25 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in 32 minutes on the floor. It was the ninth consecutive 25-plus-points game for the agile Sixers center this season. Tyrese Maxey also had a stellar game finishing with 23 points on five of seven shooting from beyond the arc along with five assists. On the defensive end, Matisse Thybulle was tenacious with two blocks and tied his career-high of five steals, something he’s now already done four times. Thybulle however would exit the game early and would not return due to soreness in his right shoulder after a scary fall in the second half.

Jason Tatum at the free throw line for the Celtics

Photo by Mikko Abello.

“Playing against them is always good,” said Embiid after the match. “They’re a great team. Like I said last time we played them, they’re better than what their record says. That’s a really good team.

“They’ve got a bunch of playmakers and they’re actually pretty good defensively, too,” he added. “So, when you play those type of games, the intensity’s always going to run high.” 

There were a few episodes in the game when emotions ran high following physical play, something expected because of the two teams’ rivalry. “Tonight there was a couple of flagrant fouls,” Embiid said. “You know, a couple of dangerous plays, a couple of techs. It happens, but you’ve got to keep focusing on you and just do your best. And that’s what we did tonight, and we got the win.”

Jaylen Brown attacks the basket for Boston

Photo by Mikko Abello.

After a relatively quiet first half from Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum, the duo turned it up after halftime to pour in 21 and 20 respectively with Tatum also hauling down 11 boards to finish with a double-double. Payton Pritchard also added 17 points and four assists while Robert Williams III had a double-double of his own with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

“This was a tough night. I don't think we've had many nights like this but, you know, obviously we've had some nights where we started slow. But most of the time we give ourselves a chance,” reflected Tatum at post-game. “For whatever reason, maybe it was one of those nights where we just started slow and really weren't able to cut the lead down and give ourselves a chance, and obviously, it started with myself. We just had way too many turnovers at the beginning of the game. Could never really get to that lead.” 

Just like a lot of other teams this season, COVID-19 has been a challenge in the Sixers’ campaign early in the season and Embiid knows the importance of keeping the team healthy.

“I feel great. We had Covid issues but I always look at…any team without their best player, it’s going to be hard to win,” he said. “When I look at where we are when we’ve got most of the team healthy, and especially me in the lineup, I think we’re 21-9. All that tells me is we’ve just got to stay healthy, keep doing what we’ve been doing. We struggled a little bit offensively, but during this stretch we’ve been pretty good offensively, just moving the ball. And these guys just allow me to do what I do best offensively and defensively. But I feel pretty good, and I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet. We’ve still got a long way to go. We’re missing guys here and there that could really help us. There’s really no urgency to change anything. I think we’ve got everything we need. We’ve got to keep on going, and I’m happy." 

Sixers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond shooting around pre game

Photo by Mikko Abello.

Pritchard, a silver lining in Boston’s loss last night, talked about getting more minutes since returning from COVID-19. “I don't think I'm just trying to get back. I think I'm just trying to just go out there and play. When you get to go and play consistent minutes, I feel like that kinda happens naturally. But yeah, I mean for me, my mindset is just trying to go out there and compete, help the team win, and obviously do what I can to be a spark off the bench,” he said. The Celtics guard sounded positive despite the loss and added, “I honestly think we're close. There's going to be games where this happens. I mean this is the NBA, sometimes people just have your number some night but I think for us, we’re going to have to keep working on finding that consistency and I think we’re close.

“With any team, especially a young team, it takes time and once we hit that point, we’ll break through,” Pritchard added. “But for now, it's just about going to work every day and showing up ready to compete.”

Philadelphia improves their regular season record to 24-17 while the Celtics fall to 21-22. Both teams played the first of their respective back-to-back assignments this weekend. The Sixers fly to Miami to face the Heat (27-15) next while the Celtics head home to Boston to host the Chicago Bulls (27-13) Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).