BSJ Game Report: Celtics 124, Sixer 104 - Pritchard's 28, Tatum's triple-double fuel blowout

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Sixers, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics shot 8-12 from 3 in the first quarter to build an eight-point lead heading into the second quarter. Payton Pritchard got hot and Luke Kornet worked a great two-man game with Jayson Tatum as the C’s doubled that lead heading into halftime. The lead grew to 26 after the third quarter thanks to some great defense. The Celtics cruised from there, even though they lost a few points off their biggest lead, which was 29 at one point. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

Tatum dominates: He finished with a triple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), dominating in all phases despite shooting 38.5%. He attacked Joel Embiid, continuing his trend of destroying bigs off the pick-and-roll. 

Pritchard big off bench: He checked in late in the first quarter and went 5-6 from 3 in the first half. He finished with 28, but that first half run was a big part of Boston getting some separation. 

Hot shooting: It looked, for a minute, that Boston would have a chance to break the 3-point record, but they backed off a little in the second half. The 3-pointers were the difference early on when the overall field goals were even and it just created an avalanche that buried the Sixers. 

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics closed the first half on an 8-2 run then opened the third quarter on a 13-4 run, which adds up to 21-6 spanning about five minutes around halftime to turn a 10-point game into a 25-point lead. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jayson Tatum: One of the best passing nights of his life. He’s seeing the floor better than ever. Running pick-and-roll with Kornet and Embiid off the floor was unfair. 

- Jaylen Brown: What’s funny about Brown’s night is that early on, I wasn’t liking how it was going. I thought he was shaky with the ball, but he was still hitting shots and he tightened up as the game went along. He finished with 20/6/6 while shooting 54% from the floor. 

- Payton Pritchard: Pritchard ended up getting some late run to get a few more shots up, and those kept falling. He finished with 28 points to lead the team, hitting 8-15 from 3 and tossing in a couple of layups for good measure. 

- Luke Kornet: 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists for Kornet, who ran a two-man game to perfection with Tatum. 

Toss in a couple of blocks and this was an incredible all-around night for him in a matchup that wouldn’t normally call for him. 

- Al Horford: He hit 3-5 from 3, making the Sixers pay for leaving him to double Tatum and others. Also, some generally solid defense on Joel Embiid. I love seeing Horford play well in Philadelphia. 

- Derrick White: You know why. How about 10 rebounds to go along with 14 points? DWhite chomping glass was not on my bingo card. 

- Jrue Holiday: Two things on Holiday: he took a shot to the right shoulder early in the game and it didn’t phase him, and he was 2-3 from 3.

- Kristaps Porzingis: I kinda didn’t want to leave him out. He was 3-6 from 3. I actually think his game was generally just okay, but being that kind of threat from deep opens up everything for everyone. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Early fouls: The Celtics defense was like a 1999 basketball mixtape in the first half: A lot of And-ones out there. Their fouls kept the Sixers close early on, but once they cleaned that up, they were fine. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- We can relax now, the Celtics are officially a contender. 

Phil Jackson’s famous decree that true contenders win 40 games before losing 20 has become the law of the land in the NBA. It has overwhelmingly held true over the years, which is good news for the now 40-16 Celtics. 

They have the most 20-point wins in the NBA and the league’s best road record. The home record has been weird, but that's more of an aberration. There never should have been any worry about the Celtics as a true contender, but I suppose now we can make it official. 

- The Sixers need to pack it in.

Just some friendly advice for the Sixers: forget this season. It’s over.

Joel Embiid can’t move. They have no shot if he’s out there moving like this the rest of the season. He can’t defend in space, meaning he can only be a drop big. He has to drop very deep, which lets guys step into open shots. The Sixers are better with Tyrese Maxey doing his thing, and we saw some of that in the first half of this game. I even mentioned during the live blog that the Celtics had to get him in check in the second half or else it would become a big problem. 

He can't do that with Embiid out there. Embiid demands the ball and he's in everyone's way. Just let him get the surgery so he can come back and start next season fresh. It's Philly's last chance to do something with him as their main guy. 

Next up: The Celtics face the Knicks at home on ABC Sunday afternoon