By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to rebound after falling to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night and having a game postponed because of Covid-19 yesterday. The well-rested Sixers faced a game Boston Celtics squad that was looking to get their second win of the month over the Sixers. Philly would use a late game offensive explosion to beat the Celtics 108-103.

The Sixers started the game very well. They were able to hit their shots early on and took full advantage of the Celtics smaller defenders. They were led by the three-headed trio of Joel Embiid (41-points), Seth Curry (26-points), and Tobias Harris (25-points). The trio combined for 92-points and accounted for much of the offensive attack. Philly was extremely deprived of bench depth because of the combination of injury and Covid-19. Embiid, Curry, and Harris stepped up when their team need them the most. They were able to play aggressive and put Boston on their heels. Boston had no answers early on for them.

Despite the offensive explosion from Embiid, Curry, and Harris, Boston was able to storm back late in the third quarter. Thanks to some very sloppy play from their second unit. They were able to force them into some costly turnovers which propelled the Celtics offense. They were able to get some easy baskets and wide-open threes. They were led by the killer J’s Jayson Tatum (17-points) and Jaylen Brown (30-points) who combined for 47-points. Both were able to hit some clutch baskets late in the game to keep the Sixers at bay.

Philly used a late game offensive explosion and some phenomenal perimeter defense to force the Celtics into three crucial turnovers. That allowed Joel Embiid to hit three clutch buckets that put Boston to bed, and allowed Philly to get their 16^th victory of the season. They now will have two-days to prepare for the Atlanta Hawks who will be missing Trae Young because he is in the league’s health and safety protocols. The Hawks will still be a tough match-up for Philly especially without key bench depth. They will need another strong offensive and defensive night from Embiid, Curry, and Harris if they want to beat a scrappy Hawks squad and get their 17^th victory of the season.