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The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the shocker of Christmas Day when they went on the road and knocked off the Boston Celtics 118-114. The 76ers have quietly been playing some of their best basketball lately and have now won eight of their last 11 games.
Things were looking bleak for Nick Nurse and company after star center Joel Embiid appeared to inure his ankle after taking a turnaround jumper and falling into the stands before the game. However, Embiid ended up being good to go and the 76ers were at full strength for this rivalry matchup.
Embiid had a nice day in the win, finishing with 27 points and nine rebounds on 8-for-15 shooting. However, there were two other heroes who took center stage. Star guard Tyrese Maxey carried the load on the offensive end for the 76ers and had a huge game, finishing with 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting while also adding 12 assists. Then there was Caleb Martin, who poured in 23 points and seven 3-pointers as he continues his career-long trend of torching the Celtics.
After the game, Embiid gave Martin the nickname “Boston Killer” during Maxey's postgame interview.
This is a huge win for the 76ers over one of their biggest rivals during the last few seasons when Embiid has been on the team. The 76ers still have a lot of work to do to jump back up near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, but this recent stretch of wins is certainly a good start.
76ers finding themselves as midway point approaches
For a while, the 76ers were one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA. Paul George was injured, Tyrese Maxey was injured, and Joel Embiid was still in and out of the lineup while managing his knee injury. As a result, the 76ers had one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference at the start of the year.
Now, Nick Nurse finally has his three stars back on the floor together and his 76ers are starting to find a little bit of a groove. This recent hot streak has the 76ers at 11-17 on the season and back up into 11th in the Eastern Conference. They still have plenty of work to do, but there is still plenty of time left in the season and the 76ers are clearly talented enough to work their way back into the playoff picture.
If the 76ers do end up in the playoffs and are able to both stay healthy and maintain this level of play throughout the rest of the season, they will be a team that nobody wants to play against in April and May. They have as much talent and star power as just about anybody, and have multiple players that can win you a game at any time.
Editor's Note: This article was updated to reflect that Joel Embiid was calling Caleb Martin “Boston Killer” and not Tyrese Maxey.
