THE Boston Celtics took down the Philadelphia 76ers at their home court at Wells Fargo Center in downtown Philadelphia.
The Celtics were able to hold the Sixers in this controversial game with the score of 112-109. During the final moments of the game, Sixers center Joel Embiid got furious to the referees and stated later in the press conference some blatant words towards the officials.
“The refs fu***** sucked,” he said as he walked out of the press conference and into the locker room. No doubt the league would be fining him for these blasphemous remarks in the next weeks.
This all started with a play late in the game in the post where Embiid spun against Horford and was tangled up, unable to score. He expected a foul call yet there was no whistle. The game continued to be tight till Tatum put the icing on the cake.
Four Celtic players scored double digits in this game with the lead of forward Gordon Hayward who posted 26 points, followed by center Al Horford who scored 23, forward Jayson Tatum who scored 20 and 10 boards, and forward Marcus Morris Sr. who scored 17.
The Sixers were led by Embiid who scored 23 points, followed by guard Jimmy Butler with 22, guards JJ Redick and Ben Simmons who scored 16 each, and newly acquired forward Tobias Harris who scored 10.
In the first quarter, the game was tight with both teams trading baskets. The first quarter ended with the score of 28-23 in favor of the Celtics. The Celtics relied on the hot start of Morris who scored six baskets and five rebounds in the first 12 minutes. Meanwhile, the Sixers shot 8-19 from the field.
In the second quarter, Jimmy Butler started to score and the Celtics were having a hard time guarding the Sixers. Things got worse when the Sixers started to improve their defense, minimizing the Celtics’ ability to score on transitions. Going to halftime, the score was 52-46 in favor of the Celtics.
The third quarter began with the Sixers going on a 16-4 run, capping it off with Redick hitting a three to give the Sixers a ten-point lead.
Afterwards, things went south for the Sixers. The Celtics, with Hayward and Horford, created clutch plays, scoring nine points and hitting three pointers to close the quarter.
In the 4th quarter, incredible plays were thrown back and forth. Embiid score 8 of the first 14 points of the Sixers amidst the Celtics hitting 7-8 of their field goals in the fourth. Butler, then, responded with 2-3 field goals going in, including a 4-point play. However, guard Terry Rozier and Tatum hit back to back threes to give the Celtics a six-point lead with 5:18 left in the game.
With the remaining minutes, Hayward took over, banking in threes left and right to secure the win for the Celtics. (Jayvee Gulfan, USC intern)