BSJ Game Report: Boston Celtics 135, Philadelphia 76ers 86 - Thorough domination for 9th straight win

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Philadelphia 76ers with BSJ insight and analysis. 

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics had it going from the start, opening the game on a 16-4 run and basically pouring it on from there. The Sixers hung around a bit early on thanks to Joel Embiid living at the free throw line, and they made a little run in the second quarter, but Boston answered that and cruised the entire second half to their ninth straight win. 

HEADLINES

Smart injures ankle: Let’s get the bad news out of the way. Smart sprained his right ankle on a drive against Embiid in the second quarter. 

"Rolled his ankle pretty bad,” Ime Udoka said. “Stepped on Joel's foot on the way up. Limping noticeably. We'll check him out tonight, obviously tomorrow, see how he feels. Didn't look very good walking out, but we'll see."

If there's any silver lining here it’s that the Celtics shouldn’t need him to beat Detroit tomorrow, and then the Celtics are on their All-Star break, so there's a week of rest to maybe get himself right. We’ll find out in the morning how bad it really is. 

Celtics defense is for real: The Celtics won the first quarter 32-22, the second 37-20, and the third 32-16 (the fourth was garbage time … but they won that one too). 

“What I was impressed with was, after a big lead in the first half, coming out and holding them to 16 in the third quarter,” Udoka said. “So there was no let up as far as that.”

The standings climb continues: Boston is now just one game behind Philadelphia and 1.5 behind Milwaukee. The Bucks and Sixers play Thursday, so a win tomorrow against the Pistons will result in some ground gained somewhere. Miami lost tonight, so Boston is just 3.5 games out of FIRST in the East. 

I’m not going to kid myself about where the C’s stand in the overall pecking order (ok, maybe I will in a take I might regret later), but the fact that they're this close after everything they’ve been through says a lot. 

Here are some numbers: Boston now has the East’s best point differential by a full point, and they’ve climbed to fourth-best in the NBA. They now have 24 wins against Eastern Conference opponents, more than any other team. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Celtics are the first team in NBA history to win 3 straight road games by at least 30 points.

Oh, and Derrick White was a +41 in 27:30.

TURNING POINT

The Sixers went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 17 with 2:26 to go in the second quarter. This started to have one of those eerily reminiscent feels of a big lead/late second quarter collapse to give an opponent life/early third quarter opponent run to make it a game/oh no they're right back to their old habits again. 

Instead, Boston whipped off an 11-1 run to go into the half up 27. For good measure, they started the third 16-6 and it was stat-padding time. 

SEVEN UP

Jayson Tatum: 28 points on 9-17 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Also, 2 blocks and no turnovers. He hit 4-8 from 3 but my favorite part of his game was attacking when Embiid was off the floor even when he’d hit a couple of 3-pointers. It’s a little bit of a shift in attitude that makes a big difference. He has been a monster at the rim lately, 180 degrees from the start of the season. 

Jaylen Brown: 29 points on 10-17 shooting (5-7 3pt), 8 rebounds, 3 assists. He was the on-fire guy. He was the guy who made his heat check. He hit a dagger to close out the first half to send Boston into the locker room on a high and leave Philly broken like the Liberty Bell. They never challenged after that.

Derrick White: Pressed into full-time point guard service after the Smart injury and he was his usual solid self. 

Daniel Theis: I really felt like he never left, and he did a great job sliding in for the injured Robert Williams. 

“I came in with Theis, so I played three-and-a-half years with him,” Tatum said. “So did JB and Rob and Smart, so it’s not like having somebody new. I’m happy he’s back, we’re happy he’s back, and Theis just fits right in with what we’re doing.” 

He finished with 9 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and some excellent pick-and-roll defense. He picked things up quickly and was huge in a spot where Boston would have had to rely on Luke Kornett or gone small. 

Grant Williams: Mr. Corner Office was 4-5 from deep. He hit some killers. Also, I don’t care that he got called for some fouls … he bodied Joel Embiid and made him work. Embiid lived at the line in the first half (11-14) but only took 2 free throws in the second because he was either too worn down or too checked out. Either way, Grant gets a share of the credit for wearing on him.

Aaron Nesmith: A career-high 18 points for him. He’s going to get some opportunities here as the C’s fill out their roster and even more if Smart is out for a while. This is a good step for him, shooting 6-9 from the field and 3-5 from 3. 

Payton Pritchard: He led the team with 7 assists and worked extremely hard defensively. He gave Boston some good minutes after Smart went down and he even kept the third-stringers in line at the end. 

NONE DOWN

Not in a game they led by 51.

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER 

- This defense makes the Celtics dangerous

The Celtics have a lot of holes which makes them very vulnerable. If Smart’s ankle injury lingers, that really impacts their depth and defensive capabilities, and it will be hard for Boston to be as good as they’ve been. 

But this run of theirs as a healthy unit has shown how elite their defense can be. 

“This is probably one of the better defensive teams in my career,” Brown said. “We’ve had some really good defensive units, but it feels hard to score on us. It feels really good. It feels connected.”

The Celtics are now at a 104.8 defensive rating, just .4 behind the league-leading Golden State Warriors for the full season. If you want to do the “since January 1” thing, Boston’s defensive rating is 100.4, nearly four full points ahead of second-place Dallas. And their net rating this calendar year is 13.2, ahead of Phoenix’s 11. 

Their defensive rating during the winning streak is 95.5. The distance between them and second place is bigger than the distance between second and 27th. 

Tonight, they put the clamps down on Philly and barely let go, even without Robert Williams behind them to bail them out.

“I think that made us even more aware, honestly,” Tatum said. “Sometimes, even myself, just knowing that Rob’s out there, you always feel like you got like a safety net. So, whether it’s right or wrong, you may gamble a little bit more or whatever the case, but I think knowing that we didn't have Rob, that made myself and everybody else just gonna tighten up a little bit more on the defensive end and be more connected.”

The Celtics offense is still nowhere near their defense. They’ve won by a lot during this nine-game streak but their offense is only seventh in the league over that short stretch and 11th since January 1. But this kind of defense they’ve been playing gives them a chance to beat almost anyone. 

The playoffs are about physical defense and winning a war of attrition. A lot of the fouls Embiid got in this game wouldn’t be called in a playoff series. A defense like this gives Boston a puncher’s chance. The key, obviously, is staying healthy, which I know feels like an impossibility with this team. 

If Smart’s ankle is okay after the All-Star break, then who knows how far this thing can go. Defense drives winning, and Boston has one of the league’s best right now.