Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 116-95 victory over the Sixers with BSJ insight and analysis:
Box Score
HEADLINES
Jaylen Brown steps up to lead blowout win: Jaylen Brown is not technically an All-Star, but he certainly played the part on Saturday night. The swingman scored a game-high 32 points and added a team-high 9 rebounds, helping lead the shorthanded hosts to a 116-95 blowout win over the Sixers without Kemba Walker or Enes Kanter. Jayson Tatum added 25 points in 29 minutes to lead a balanced C’s scoring effort that included five players in double figures. Boston’s bench also came up big on both ends of the floor thanks to a season-high 15 points from Brad Wanamaker and a 60 percent shooting night from the likes of Wanamaker, Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams. Ben Simmons had a game-high 23 points for the visitors.
It was the third straight win for the C’s overall and first of the year against the Sixers in four tries. The C’s hit the road next to try to extend the winning streak in Atlanta on Monday night.
Joel Embiid can’t do much against Daniel Theis and a swarming Celtics defense: The C’s did not have an answer for Joel Embiid in his last trip to the Garden. Without their strongest big man (Enes Kanter) healthy, they relied on Daniel Theis and a scrappy group of wings to put the clamps on the Sixers big man and did better than anyone could have expected. Embiid had his worst shooting night of the year, going just 1-of-11 on his way to a subpar line of 11 points and 5 rebounds over his 23 minutes. He did not look like himself all night long from a stamina perspective, but the C’s did a great job to keep him guessing in the post and around the rim, which set the tone for a stellar defensive night for Boston in which the Sixers shot a paltry 36.9 percent from the field.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics set the tone for this one right at the opening tip, avoiding the slow starts that have plagued the first unit for large stretches of the season. Despite missing Walker, the C’s offense was firing on all cylinders with a 22-8 outburst in the opening five minutes, forcing the Sixers to be play catch-up all night.
TWO UP
Jaylen Brown: The fourth-year wing may have snubbed for an All-Star spot but he played the part in this one, posting game-highs with 25 points and 9 rebounds through the first three quarters alone. He hit nine of his first ten shots from inside the arc, including an impressive crossover against defensive rookie standout Matisse Thybulle.
Celtics bench: Brad Stevens kept his rotation short again even with Walker and Kanter out and he got some great minutes from Brad Wanamaker, Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams. The trio combined for 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and Williams/Ojeleye also held their own defensively despite some serious size mismatches down low.
TWO DOWN
Gordon Hayward’s shooting: The swingman was due for an offensive stinker after a very hot stretch of late and it arrived on Saturday night. The veteran missed his first seven shots of the night on his way to a four point night on 1-of-11 shooting.
Joel Embiid: The All-Star had a dream mismatch from a size standpoint in the post against Daniel Theis and did absolutely nothing with it. He missed nine of his first ten shots from the field and also turned the ball over three times in the first five minutes of the game, helping dig the Sixers an early hole they couldn’t climb out of.
TOP PLAY
Tatum explodes for the poster jam in tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game! pic.twitter.com/DhHwsg9jkg
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 2, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The Celtics should rest Kemba Walker for awhile with their wings playing at this level: Boston’s chances in the postseason largely depend on the health of their All-Star point guard and with his sore knee acting up for the second time in a month, he has been told to rest his knee for the next two games at a minimum. Given that this is an issue that has dated all the way back to the World Cup in China, the Celtics need to ensure they manage it well here. The good news? Offensively, Tatum, Brown and Hayward combined are doing enough on the offensive end right now to still lead this team to wins. All three don’t have it going together every night but the sense of urgency is apparent among the trio ever since their three-game losing streak back in January. They’ve all looked like All-Stars at one point or another during that stretch and with a boost to the bench at the trade deadline, there should be far less of an onus on Walker to play big minutes every night in order to keep the C’s in the hunt for the No. 2 seed.
The Celtics played with the best kind of physicality we’ve seen all season: The hosts knew they were outmuscled in their previous losses to the Sixers this season and they appeared determined from the opening tip to not let it happen again. Boston piled up a season-high 41 free throws, limited the Sixers to 36 percent shooting and won the battle to 50-50 balls all night long. There were no weak links in the team’s defensive lineups from an intensity standpoint and that helped ensure the entire Sixers roster outside of Simmons had an off night offensively. With six wins in their last seven games, the C’s have clearly taken the defensive lessons learned amid a poor stretch in January to heart and the response has been the best basketball we’ve seen all year since November.