The shorthanded Celtics made easy work of a reeling Philadelphia 76ers squad on Thursday night, cruising to a 123-103 win despite playing without five rotation players.
Jayson Tatum scored 18 of his game-high 35 points in the first quarter, helping Boston build an early double-digit lead that the hosts maintained easily for the final three quarters.
The Sixers made things interesting midway through the second half, trimming Boston’s 20-point lead down to 10. However, a 20-2 run by the Celtics put the game away for good, closing out a 3-1 season series win for Boston over Philadelphia.
Payton Pritchard also chipped in with 19 points off the bench in the victory while Baylor Scheierman had the best game of his NBA career, posting a career-high 15 points in 30 minutes. Kelly Oubre Jr. had a team-high 27 points for the 76ers in the setback for a tanking Philadelphia squad that has now lost 12 of their last 13 games.
The Celtics were able to get rest for five regulars in their third straight win with Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford all sidelined for the second half of the back-to-back set. The majority of that group could be back in the lineup for the Celtics’ primetime tilt against the Lakers on Saturday night at TD Garden.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win on Thursday night.
Jayson Tatum benefitted from a night off: The Celtics All-Star got a rare night off against the Blazers on Wednesday and came off rejuvenated against an overmatched Sixers squad. With three starters out of the lineup, it was Tatum’s show early offensively and he made the most of it, tying a career-high point total for the first quarter with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting fro the field. The All-Star was also incredibly active defensively in the frame, piling up three steals against a tanking Philadelphia squad but it was a good bounce back for Tatum offensively after he had a couple of rough shooting nights to begin Boston’s homestand. Tatum finished with a game-high 35 points while still sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
Derrick White has the worst dental luck: Just nine months after chipping one of his front teeth during Game 5 of the NBA Finals, White will likely be in the market for more dental work. A wayward elbow from Kelly Oubre Jr. to White’s jaw early in the second quarter sent one of his teeth flying out of his mouth. The Celtics guard retrieved the loose tooth before heading to the locker room for the remainder of the first half. Incredibly, he was back on the floor to begin the third quarter but he played limited minutes the rest of the way as Boston put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Boston bench wings emerge as factors: Without five rotation players available, it was inevitable that Joe Mazzulla would dig deep into his bench for this contest. Luckily, nearly every seldom used reserve answered the call. Baylor Scheierman finished with a career-high 15 points in easily the best game of his NBA career, knocking down more threes (3) than he had in his entire career. Torrey Craig (12 points) was also a bright spot, making both of his 3s and playing with great force on the offensive glass. Jordan Walsh also had his second strong game and the combined outputs helped of that trio helped the Celtics cruise to an easy without overtaxing their healthy regulars.
The 76ers are depressing: Outside of some hot shooting from familiar face Lonnie Walker, this was yet another depressing outing by Philadelphia on their way to a pitiful tank job to end this season. The Sixers need to drop down to the fifth-worst record in the NBA to have better than even odds of retaining their top-6 protected first round pick. The Celtics should be rooting for them to do so, otherwise that’s another weapon for the Thunder’s stacked roster, since Oklahoma City would receive the pick if it is No. 7 or lower.
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