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The third game on NBA Christmas Day pitted the Philadelphia 76ers (11-17) against the Boston Celtics (22-8) for the first time all season. The Sixers came to play in the early-evening showdown at TD Garden, though they fumbled through the final minutes. Still, they came out victorious, 118-114.
The 76ers have started to get it together, most recently beating the San Antonio Spurs despite Joel Embiid's ejection to win seven of their last 10 games. However, the Celtics presented them with their toughest challenge, even without the injured Jrue Holiday. The universe not allowing a player with that name to be healthy enough to play on Christmas is a sick joke. So was having the Sixers wear white — this was the perfect chance for a red vs. green game! Boston wore red accessories, at least.
Embiid can’t even escape injury scares on Christmas. He tweaked his ankle during warm-ups, though he was able to finish his pregame routine. Nonetheless, with their Big 3 in tow, the Sixers came out on top, leaving TD Garden with their best win of the season.
76ers vs. 3-point shooting
Because the Celtics shoot threes like nobody's business, this was going to be a great test for the 76ers' defense. Not having KJ Martin due to a stress fracture was a huge deal against a team with so much size and talent on the wings. The Sixers would have to cover a lot of ground without one of their smartest and most athletic players to cover up the gaps.
Embiid having to help out inside allowed Philadelphia enemy Al Horford to shoot (and sink) a pair of triples in the opening minutes. Kristaps Porzingis benefited from Embiid helping out, too. Once the Celtics got the Sixers in rotation, it was only a matter of time before they got off a good shot.
The Sixers did a nice job breaking up and intercepting the Celtics' passes and limiting their buckets inside the arc. They also didn’t allow Boston to get to the foul line, though its shot diet didn’t create many chances for free throws anyway. The C's like to play the math battle of taking more three-pointers than their opponent. Rim pressure is a key component of that but, most times, only so far as making the kick-out pass.
Boston tried to get its offense going with ball screens for Jayson Tatum, dragging Embiid further up the court to deter his pull-up triple. He made quite a few of them, chopping away at Philly's lead. Had Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown not combined to shoot 2-14 in the first half, the C's might have swiped a lead before the break.
Indeed, Brown stopped sabotaging his own team and helped spark a 7-0 run at the beginning of the third quarter and later went on to tie the game with a triple. Boston's third-quarter shooting wasn’t good but Philly's was even worse, bringing the game to a tie entering the fourth quarter.
Another cold spell from the Celtics gave the Sixers enough room to pull ahead and stay there.
Maxey Clause and Noel Embiid
Matchups against the Celtics used to be the bane of Maxey's existence. They tested his limited creation abilities like few other teams could early in his career, taking him out of entire games.
But now, those same bullies can’t keep him down that easily. A hot start from The Franchise got the Sixers out in front and proved how much he's grown in the last few years.
Through the first 15 minutes of game time, Maxey recorded 14 points, six assists and two steals. He seemed to be moving at a gear or two faster than anyone who tried to defend him. The Celtics couldn’t afford to leave him in single coverage too often. When they didn’t, Maxey split the defense or found whoever was left open.
In the fourth quarter, with both of the veteran stars resting, Maxey led the Sixers on a 15-2 run. The offense ran relatively smoothly and the defense held up really well. Even with Pritchard in his grill and everyone else in green ready to sell out to stop him, they couldn’t stop him. A few huge threes from Caleb Martin helped out big time.
Embiid, who matched Maxey's first-half total of 18 points, was a beast. The big man gifted a DX chop from the ground to the Boston faithful after an and-one layup. He scored from all over the court and was remarkably efficient. Behind the two of them, the Sixers set a new high mark for first-half points with 66.
While Embiid did his mid-range thing, he also shot the lights out from deep, connecting on four of his first five attempts. He moved really well on defense, keeping smaller opponents in front of him and forcing them into tougher shots. When those players are All-Star wings, they'll still find ways to score, even if it’s not something to be relied on consistently.
The Celtics went to two-big lineups against Embiid, starting Horford with Porzingis while making Luke Kornet their first substitution of the game (for Porzingis). They only went to one big man when Embiid hit the bench. Once Porzingis was listed as doubtful to return because of ankle soreness, Neemias Queta stepped up to play alongside Horford. Boston went to single-big lineups whenever Embiid sat.
Although Maxey did a great job leading the Sixers solo, it gave Nick Nurse a false sense of confidence. Embiid sat too long, Boston regained momentum and cut a 14-point lead to three in roughly two minutes. Maxey made that run possible with three brutal turnovers. Fortunately, the Sixers held on for long enough to win it. Embiid and Maxey combined for 60 points on 20-38 shooting.
Paul George can’t pick up the slack
While Embiid and Maxey cooked the main course to near perfection, George burnt the cookies.
In fairness, PG had to man a lot of lineups without Embiid or Maxey. He played with the small Kyle Lowry-Reggie Jackson backcourt pairing and didn’t have a consistent scoring threat to lean on. But also, so did Maxey, and his solo act was way, way better.
George will have bad games but the fact that he's struggled this much to fit into his role as the third option is very worrisome. Shooting this poorly with two stars to help him is hard to comprehend. His inability to get to the rim consistently should be covered up when the two big guns next to him get to cooking. But then he has games like this, where his silky shooting is nowhere to be found.
Obviously, the Sixers didn’t pay George the big bucks to be just another role player for the two stars. Fortunately for them in this game, they had enough desserts — and George hit two clutch free throws.
The Sixers got solid performances from several role players. Martin, a renowned Celtics killer and the starter in KJ's place, scored 23 points while shooting 7-9 from deep (!!!), a career-high for treys in a game. Guerschon Yabusele provided a pivotal scoring punch off the bench against his former squad. Kelly Oubre Jr. had the Tatum matchup and did a great job making him work hard for his points.
The 76ers will continue their road trip on Saturday against the Utah Jazz.
