The Boston Celtics took the top spot in the Eastern Conference with their win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 29 points, but it was Derrick White that took over in the fourth quarter of the C’s 117-107 win from Wells Fargo Center.
Horford and White take the stage
Both Jaylen Brown and Kristap Porzingis were out with injury in the Clash of Eastern Conference Titans, which meant that Al Horford and Derrick White were going to have to pick up the slack, and that’s exactly what they did.
It was Jrue Holiday who got Boston started off on the right foot, scoring 10 first quarter points and helping the Celtics build up a 17 point lead in the first 12 minutes. Al Horford was tasked with keeping Joel Embiid contained, and all he did was keep the reigning MVPto a season low 20 points, while scoring 18 points and hitting four threes.
The Sixers bench brought them back into the game in the second quarter as Jaden Springer and Paul Reed gave Philly a boost off the bench. Philly would not just cut into the lead, but they would go into the halftime break up by one.
Celtics lead the Eastern Conference
The Sixers would go cold midway through the third quarter. Joel Embiid hit a mid range jumper to cut Boston’s narrow lead to 2 points with 5:27 to go in the quarter, but Philly would score just two more FTs and allowed the Celtics to take an 83-75 lead into the final 12 minutes.
The Sixers bench would again bring Philly back into the game, this time it was De’Anthony Melton who got hot and helped the home side cut the lead to one in the early part of the quarter. Derrick White took over the game, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the final 12 minutes and would have some timely assists to Jayson Tatum to close out the Sixers and lead the Celtics to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
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Tatum will grab the headline with his 29 point performance, but it was White who was the star of the show in Philly. He scored 14 of his 27 in the fourth quarter, and when he wasn't scoring the ball he was making the kind of plays you need to make to win ball games.
Tatum had 29, 8 and 6 assists.
White had 27 and 5 assists.
Holiday had 18 and 10 rebounds.
And Horford put up 18, while keeping Embiid to 20 points on 8/16 shooting.
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Derrick White was the hero for Boston in the fourth quarter. He made big play after big play, whether it was on the defensive side of the ball, dishing the rock or making it rain from downtown.
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It was the Philly bench that took over in the second quarter, bringing the Sixers back fro 17 down. In the fourth quarter it was the Celtics bench, and Derrick White who made big plays to giveBoston control of the game late in the fourth.
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Tatum had a quiet 29 points against the Sixers. He is alway going to put up numbers, but he didn't really turn it on until the second half. He was the leading scorer, but on Wednesday it was the other guys who made the difference in the Eastern Conference Clash of the Titans.
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The Celtics lost their lead going into halftime, but came roaring back thanks to Al Horford and company. Horford had a massive game in his first start of the year. He frustratedJoel Embiid all night on the defensive end, and dropped 14 points, hitting four threes while grabbing nine rebounds.
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With no Porzingis, Al Horford got the start and Luke Kornet played heavy minutes and made some big plays, scoring 9 points and grabbing 6 boards.
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The Celtics locked dow Joel Embiid and the rest of the Sixers for the first quarter, building up a 17 point lead in the opening 12 minutes of the game.
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With no Jaylen Brown or Kristaps Porzingis it was up to the rest of the cast to step up and Jrue Holiday rose to the occasion on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
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117-107
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The Celtics take the top spot in the East after a fantastic fourth quarter performance from Derrick White!
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117-107
White at the line after the Maxey foul and he hits both FTs.
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115-107
Embiid with the offensive board and he gets the bucket to fall.
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115-105
Tatum tips in his own miss and this game is over!
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113-105
Maxey put up a three ball, and originally got fouled by Holiday, but after review it was ruled as a clean block!
BOS ball with 1:08 to go!
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113-105
White with the penetration and kick out to Tatum who was wide open for THREE!!! That might have just sealed it!
TO Philly with 1:11 to go.
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110-105
Maxey drives down the lane and he hits the off balance runner AND 1! FT is good after the foul on Hauser.
2:00 to go.
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110-102
Horford with his fourth three ball of the night, this one off the feed from Tatum!
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107-102
Embiid with a dribble into the paint and a hook shot over Horford.
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107-100
Tatum at the line after the foul on Melton and he hits both FTs.
3:14 to go in the fourth quarter.
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105-100
Covington with a strong drive down the lane and he finishes with the finger roll.
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105-98
Timeout Sixers with 4:37 to go!
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105-98
Horford finds White at the top of the key and he drills the three ball! He's got 12 in the quarter!
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102-98
Tatum AND 1 after Embiid turned it over! FT is good and the foul goes to Melton.
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99-98
Maxey to the line after the foul on Kornet and he hits both FTs!
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99-96
Kornet gets the tip back off the miss from Tatum.
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97-96
Maxey drills the three ball off the step back!
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97-93
White missed the floater and Kornet was there for the rebound and put back slam.
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95-93
Melton drills the three ball off the dribble and we have a one possession game from Philly!
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95-90
Kornet misses his second FT after the TO.
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95-90
Kornet to the line after the foul on Reed and he hits one before the Sixers call a TO with 7:22 to go in the fourth!
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94-90
Maxey missed the lay up on a drive to the bucket and Reed was there to clean up the trash on the put back.
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94-88
White in the lane and he hits the floater!
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92-88
White answers back with a three ball off the feed from Kornet!
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89-88
Harris running the break and Melton drills the three ball from the wing!
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89-85
Springer with the steal and the slam and here come the Sixers bench again!
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89-83
Reed at the line after the foul on Mykhailiuk and he hits one of two FTs.
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89-82
Lay off from White to Kornet for the slam!
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87-82
Melton to the line after the foul on Kornet and he hits one of two FTs.
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87-81
Springer missed the short jumper but Reed follows it up with the tip slam!
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87-79
White down the lane and gets the friendly roll on the floater.
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85-79
Harris fouled on the jumper and he hits both FTs.
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85-77
White to the line after the foul on Springer and he hits both FTs.
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83-77
Harris starts the fourth quarter with a slash to the bucket and a lay up.
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83-75
We are at the end of the third quarter!
Boston regain the lead, and are looking to take the top spot in the East in the next 12 minutes.
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83-75
Holiday wide open in the corner and Pritchard found him for three!
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80-75
Covington to the lie after the foul on Horford and he hits both FTs.
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80-73
Holiday slithers his way to the iron and gets the short range effort to drop off the glass.
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78-73
Tatum with a tough shot dribbling left and pulling up for three from the top of the key!
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75-73
Tough shot from Embiid who hit it from the FT line while falling to the floor.
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75-71
Hauser in the corner and he drills the three off the Horford assist!
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72-71
Embiid gets the entry pass and backs his way under the basket for the lay in.
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72-69
Fader from Tatum from the baseline and he drills it! Timeout Sixers with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
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70-69
Horford with back to back threes and he is stretching the floor with Embiid on the floor!
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67-69
Covington continues his hot night with a lay up off the dish from Embiid.
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67-67
Horford answers back by firing a three from the wing!
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64-67
Maxey going into traffic and takes the contact while getting the floater to fall.
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64-65
Melton was wide open for three and Embiid found him on the wing!
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64-62
White to the line after the foul on Embiid and he hits one of two FTs.
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63-62
Kick out from White who found Horford wide open for three in the corner!
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60-62
Tatum off the screen and he pulls up for three!
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57-62
Embiid grabs the offensive rebound after the Melton miss and he goes to the line where he hits both FTs as White picks up the foul.
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57-60
Embiid gets his second half started with a mid range jumper after a slow first half.
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WE ARE BACK IN PHILLY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!!!
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Maxey was running the break, pushing the pace and changing the game in the first half. He's got 10,3 and 3 after two quarters.
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Harris leads all Sixers with 12 points while Maxey and Covington both chipped in 10 a piece.
Embiid has 8 and 5, but spent a large portion of that comeback bid on the bench.
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It was just his fifth three of his career, but Paul Reed looked like a natural from downtown.
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The Sixers were down as many as 17 points, but the second unit came in to start the second half and turned the tides. Jaden Springer had five quick points off the bench to start the come back.
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It's usually Holiday to makes the defensive plays that lead to easy buckets on the other end but this time he was the one reaping the benefits.
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With no Jaylen Brown or Kristaps Porzingis it was up to the rest of the cast to pick up the slack. Jrue Holiday set the tone for the Celtics with 10 first quarter points as Boston took a double digit lead early in the game.
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57-58
That takes us to the halftime break after the Sixers comeback from 17 down in the first quarter!
It was the second unit who helped the Sixers get back into the game, and Maxey and Embiid have Philly up by one at half!
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57-58
Maxey off the dribble and he hits the step back three ball!
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57-55
Holiday strings a three ball from the top of the key off the kick out from Tatum!
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54-55
Embiid spinning in the lane and he hits the lay in down low.
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54-53
White gets the floater to put the Celtics back up top.
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52-53
Harris going back at the rack and gets the roll with the runner in the lane! First lead for Philly tonight!
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52-51
What a shot from Harris on the baseline! He got bumped and hit the runner falling out of bounds from behind the backboard and goes to the line hitting the FT!
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52-48
Melton off the screen and he pulls up from long range! Timeout Boston with 3:14 to go in the halfafter their lead has dwindled down to 4!
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52-45
White answers back with a three ball in the corner!
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49-45
Everyone backed off of Reed so he jacked the three and drills it!
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49-42
Hauser in transition and he reverses it off the glass to stop the run.
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47-42
Maxey at the line after the foul on White and he hits both FTs. 10-0 run for Philly!
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47-40
Springer with a strong drive on the baseline going into the contact and gets the lay up to go off the glass.
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47-38
Harris puts it on the deck and gets the floater to go in the alne.
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47-36
Timeout Sixers with under 7:00 to go in the first half.
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47-36
Covington with a burst on the baseline and he lays it up off the glass from a tight angle.
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47-34
Offensive board by Reed and he puts it back underneath.
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47-32
White to the line after the foul on Maxey and he hits both FTs.
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45-32
Pritchard off the dribble and he goes to the iron for a lay up!
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43-32
Maxey with back to back buckets this one on a dash to the rack and he's got 5 points tonight.
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43-30
Pritchard lobs it up and Kornet sprun free for the easy alley oop slam!
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41-30
Maxey off the dribble and he drills the three ball!
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41-27
Tatum with back to back buckets, this one from the elbow.
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39-27
Springer with a three ball in the corner and then gets a steal and a slam! Big minutes right off the bench for Springer!
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39-22
Tatum with a step back on the baseline to open the second quarter.
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37-22
The Celtics go on a 27-8 run to end the quarter and are up 15 after 12 minutes!
Holiday leads all scorers with 10 points, Tatum has 7.
Covington leads the Sixers with 8, Embiid has 6 and 4 but the Sixers are just 32% from the field and 2/9 from downtown.
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37-22
White to the line after the foul on Beverley and he hits both FTs.
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35-22
Mykhailiuk battling down low for the offensive board and gets the put back to go.
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33-22
White takes a dribble and pulls up from three point range!
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30-22
Embiid with the drive and hesitation for the lay up underneath.
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30-20
Embiid goesto the line after fighting for the rebound and hits both FTs after the foul Banton.
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30-18
Holiday gets the transition bucket after a Philly turnover in the middle of the court.
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28-18
Myhaliluk drills a three out of the timeout break!
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25-18
Timeout Celtics with under 3:00 to go in the first quarter.
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25-18
Holiday pokes it out of the grasp of Embiid and then springs free for the open dunk in transition.
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23-18
Hauser hustles after the offensive board, and kicks out to Pritchard who drills the three ball!
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20-18
Covington was open on the baseline and got fouled by Banton on the reverse lay up. He hits both FTs.
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20-16
Bantum on the tip in after Holiday missed the jumper.
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18-16
Holiday off to a good start and he hits the short jumper which makes the Sixers take the first timeout of the night with under 6 to go in the 1st quarter.
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16-16
Covington down the lane and he gets the floater to fall for his first points of the night.
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16-14
Hauser drills the three ball after a scrum down low.
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13-14
Spot up three ball from Tatum and he's off to a much better start from downtown than last game.
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10-14
Embiid gets the entry pass and backs down Horford for the easy deuce.
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6-8
Harris down the lane and he streaks for a lay up at the iron.
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6-6
Horford down the lane and it was blocked by Embiid but a goal tend was called.
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4-6
Harris was wide open after the kick out from Maxey!
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4-3
Holiday back down Maxey and gets the jump hook to go.
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2-3
Tatum at the line and he gets his night started with a couple FTs.
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WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM PHILLY!!!
Maxey gets us underway with a three ball for the first points of the night!
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The new look Sixers have been great over the first ten games of the season, but there is still one anchor on this team. Joel Embiid is the focal point of the offense and he will be looking to exploit the Celtics down low. Tyrese Maxey has shown that he's ready to fill the void left by James Harden's departure but admitted he still has some work to do slowing things down and getting the big man more involved in the half court offense.
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There is no Jaylen Brown or Kristaps Porzingis tonight for the Celtics which means that Al Horford is going to have to step up on both ends of the court. It's Holiday, White,Hauser, Tatum and Horford starting for Joe Mazzula's team in Philly.
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Oubre out
Sixers shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. is apparently in good spirits and back with the team after getting hit by a car in downtown Philadelphia last weekend. The car fled the scene and left Philly’s fourth leading scorer with a broken rib and lacerations after the side mirror clipped him on Saturday evening. He is going to get re-examined at the end of the week, and we will have a better idea of a return date once test are run. Oubre is in his first year in Philly and is averaging 16 points and 5 rebounds a game.
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First match up
This will be the second matchup between the Celtics and the Sixers in the first month of the season. Philly held off surge from the Boston late in the fourth quarter to get the early tiebreaker as Joel Embiid won the battle of the big men against Porzingis, leading the with Sixers 27 and 10 rebounds. Philly took the lead midway through the second quarter and never gave it back, stretching their lead to as many as 15 points with under four minutes to go, but the Celtics went on a 16-4 run to close the gap to within three points in the final seconds. Porzingis had a chance to tie the game with 6 seconds left, but missed the three ball and Embiid dragged down his 10th rebound securing the double double and the Sixers sixth straight win.
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NBA Standings
Taking a look at the Eastern Conference Standings, we see the Sixers on top of the Celtics who both have 8-2 records. The early tiebreak goes to Philly who beat the Celtics a couple week ago in at the Wells Fargo Center. It maybe be the first month of the season, but these head to head matchups could make the difference between who gets home court in the playoffs, and potentially in the NBA Finals. If we look at the Western Conference, we see the top teams in the West the Nuggets and the T’Wolves also have just two losses coming into tonight. Philly and Boston won’t just have an eye set on staying on top of the East, they want to be the top team in the league once the playoffs come around to secure home court throughout.
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Taking the load off Tatum
There are a handful of new faces that came in this offseason, and immediately made the Celtics one of the favorites, if not the favorite, in the Eastern Conference. Kristaps Porzingis has fit right in with his new team, averaging 19 points and 6 rebounds in his first 10 games with Boston. Jrue Holiday is getting 12.5 points a night, and is the second leading rebounder on the team with 7.3 boards a night, while leading the team in assists at 5.5 per outing. Boston have been within striking distance of bringing title glory back to Beantown, and they are hoping this new look roster will be what brings the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Celtics nation.
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Maxed out
The reigning MVP has been in sensational form to start the season, eyeing back to back Most Valuable Player seasons. With the departure of James Harden he has full reign of this team, but knows that he has guys like Tyrese Maxey who can ease the scoring burden when needed. Maxey had 50 points in the first of two matchups with the Pacers. Embiid is scoring over 33 ppg, and Maxey is getting 28.4 while averaging 7 assists a game. He has been the revalation of the early part of the Sixers season, and is playing the role of Robin to Joel Embiid’s Batman.
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Celtics last game
Boston rattled off their third straight win on Monday night against the New York Knicks. The win keeps them undefeated at home, and even though they won by 16, the struggled for the first three quarters. The Celtics struggled from downtown for the first few quarters, no one more than Jayson Tatum who went 1/8 from three point range to start the game. He hit four straight threes to end the game, and had 17 of his 35 in the final 12 minutes of the game as the Celtics went on a 23-10 run, to end the game and stay even with the Sixers at 8-2 coming into tonight.
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Sixers last game
The Sixers had their eight game win streak snapped last night in their second game of the NBA In-Season Tournament. After beating the Indiana Pacers in the first game of a back to back series, they fell to Tyrese Halliburton who exploded for 33, 15 and 7 assists while Obi Toppin added another 27 points in the 132-126 loss to Indy. Joel Embiid had 39 and 12 rebounds but Philly’s 16 turnovers and poor shooting from three point range allowed the Pacers to pull away in the final three minutes of the game.
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We are live from Wells Fargo Center
Hello everyone and welcome to Philadelphia where the 8-2 Sixers are back home for the third straight game after back to back matchups with the Indiana Pacers. They are coming off their first loss since the season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, and hoping for a bounce back against a Celtics team that is also 8-2. The new look Celtics have been sensational to start the season, and bring their three game win streak to Philly tonight looking to get revenge on an early season loss to the Sixers tonight at Wells Fargo Center.
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Celtics vs. Sixers
Must see matchup from The City Brotherly Love tonight as the two top teams in the Eastern Conference meet for the second time this season. The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics meet from the Wells Fargo Center in a battle of one vs. two in the East and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of the clash of titans from Philly.
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