Three Studs, Three Duds As 76ers Spoil Christmas Day For Celtics
BOSTON — The Celtics didn’t get what they wanted this holiday season and unwrapped a tough defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day at TD Garden.
Joel Embiid returned and suited up for Philadelphia while Jrue Holiday was inactive with a right shoulder impingement, but the Celtics entered the contest due for a response. The reigning champions, over their past 10 games, have been one of the NBA’s weakest 3-point shooting threats, ranking 22nd in 3-point percentage and setting the stage for an intriguing Eastern Conference rival matchup.
Boston didn’t have it easy and failed to weather the storm of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid combining to score 60 points, dropping the team to 22-8 with back-to-back losses on the season.
Here are three studs and three duds from Boston’s 118-114 loss to Philadelphia:
STUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum got right back to work, shaking off his Monday night absence (due to illness), and reclaimed his role as Boston’s head honcho.
The 26-year-old recorded double-double No. 15 this season, scoring a team-leading 32 points with 15 rebounds and four assists — another masterful MVP-caliber performance. Tatum’s loud return to the court gave Boston just enough life to fight until the final buzzer but it still wasn’t enough.
Tyrese Maxey
Every Christmas season someone has to play the role of the Grinch, right?
Well, that’s what Maxey accomplished for the Sixers as the 24-year-old was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 18 points while dishing out eight assists. Maxey completed the double-double by night’s end, finishing with a game-high 33 points with 12 assists to go alongside four rebounds and three steals.
Maxey was a pest for the Celtics all around the floor from start to finish.
Luke Kornet
The Celtics didn’t get very much from their bench in the scoring department, but Kornet made the most of his time to contribute.
Kornet collected 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, along with six points, two rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes. The 7-foot reserve brought Mazzulla’s pregame encouragement to be active in protecting the rim, especially offensively, to open the door for second-chance points and stood tall at the forefront of that effort.
DUDS
Boston’s first-half discipline
The Sixers were hunters in the first and second quarters, awaiting every Celtics miscue to capitalize on. Boston committed eight turnovers to Philadelphia’s one, giving head coach Nick Nurse’s crew a quick-and-easy 9-2 scoring boost which went a long way once the Sixers took a 66-58 halftime lead before the start of the third frame.
Jaylen Brown’s ice-cold start
It was a colossally horrid opening half for Brown and it took an early toll on the team.
The three-time All-Star made his way into the player’s tunnel at halftime after tallying just two points on 1-of-8 shooting from the floor, credited for half of Boston’s turnovers (4). Brown did, however, recover in the second half in both facets to log 23 points with seven rebounds, four assists and five turnovers — a game-high mark which nearly matched Philaldelphia’s total (6).
Payton Pritchard
The front-running candidate for Sixth Man of the Year struggled to give the Celtics what they needed off the bench as Pritchard was a no-show from three.
Pritchard shot 1-of-9 from the floor and came up empty on all eight of his 3-point attempts, finishing with a measly four points and recording a minus-10 rating. The 26-year-old remains due for a bounce-back performance for the Celtics moving forward and heading into Friday night’s conference finals rematch against the Indiana Pacers.