PHILADELPHIA — Everything you need to know about the Celtics beating the Sixers 112-109 with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Celtics score huge road win without Kyrie: With the shadow of Marcus Morris’ comments and two ugly losses hanging over their heads, the Celtics went into Philadelphia without their best player and pulled out an impressive 112-109 victory on the backs of their other two max players. Al Horford (23 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals) played like an All-Star on both ends of the floor while Gordon Hayward played arguably his best game of the year, tying a career-high with six made 3s while scoring 26 points off the bench. Jayson Tatum (20 points, 10 rebounds) chipped in with a double-double and Marcus Morris (17 points, eight rebounds) soundly outplayed Tobias Harris to give the C’s their fourth straight road win.
C’s clinch season series with the victory as they continue domination over Sixers: The win puts the Celtics ahead of the Sixers 3-0 in the season series with just one game remaining in Philadelphia next month. That edge will give Boston the head-to-head tiebreaker in the standings for seeding purposes. Tuesday’s win also pulled Boston back into a tie for the fourth seed in the East. Dating back to 2017, the Celtics have won 10 of their last 12 matchups against the Sixers overall.
TURNING POINT
The 76ers took over the lead late in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run capped off by a Joel Embiid three-point play to put the hosts up 103-102. The Celtics responded on the next possession, though, when Morris found Hayward for a corner 3, which tied his career-high (six) from downtown to put the C’s back up by two points with 1:50 remaining. The Sixers failed to make up that deficit the rest of the way.
TWO UP
Al Horford: This was a masterpiece by the 32-year-old on both ends of the floor as he punished Embiid with his shooting and tough interior defense. Horford scored 23 points and dished out five assists on the offensive end, but his value was even great against Embiid, limiting the seven-footer to just 23 points on 22 field goal attempts. Horford also piled up eight rebounds and a game-high four steals, holding his own in the post all night long.
Gordon Hayward: He may have had more points against the Wolves but this probably stands out at his best game of the year. He was a go-to option for Brad Stevens in the pick-and-roll and his outside shooting was superb as the Sixers continually lost him on rotation. Hayward tied a career-high with six made 3s on his way to 26 points and also played through contact well to get to the free throw line.
TWO DOWN
Marcus Smart’s shooting: The hot run from the 3-point line appears to be over for the fourth-year guard and everyone knows about it except for Smart. He missed all eight of his attempts from deep on Sunday night and has misfired on 15 straight from beyond the arc dating back to Thursday’s loss against the Lakers.
End of quarter management: Holding the ball for the last shot when the shot clock is off seems like an incredibly simple concept but the Celtics had serious issues with it on multiple occasions Tuesday night. Terry Rozier committed a turnover at the end of the second quarter with six seconds remaining after starting his drive too early and then Jaylen Brown went 1-on-3 on a fast break against the Sixers defense at the end of the third quarter. A blocked shot gave the Sixers an extra chance and a made basket to end the quarter on the end. Those types of miscues could have proven to be extremely costly if C’s had fallen short.
TOP PLAY
JAYSON. CHRISTOPHER. TATUM ??? (via @celtics) pic.twitter.com/d07b71nepB
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 13, 2019
