The Sixers’ eight-game winning streak ended on Tuesday evening. At the end of Wednesday evening they experienced their first losing streak of the season.
The team suffered a 117-107 loss to the Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center and was 8-3 overall. Boston improved to 9-2.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were the Sixers’ joint top scorers with 20 points each.
The Celtics got 29 points from Jayson Tatum and 27 from Derrick White.
The Sixers were without Kelly Oubre Jr. (broken rib) and Nicolas Batum (personal reasons). Boston’s Jaylen Brown (no COVID illness) and Kristaps Porzingis (right knee bruise) also had to sit out.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that he had recently spoken with Batum and the French forward indicated he might join the team for Friday night’s game in Atlanta. According to Nurse, Batum said he will be in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon when the Sixers visit the Nets.
Here are observations on the Sixers’ loss to the Celtics:
Again central three-point volume control
De’Anthony Melton hit a corner three on the first play of the game, continuing the momentum from his 30-point game on Tuesday against the Pacers.
Meanwhile, Maxey got off to another slow start. After scoring zero points in the first quarter on Tuesday, he did the same against Boston, missing all three of his field goal attempts.
Al Horford started and played his usual solid defense against Embiid, who was listed as questionable for the second straight game because of left hip soreness. Embiid didn’t look particularly spry or explosive as he finished the second game.
The Sixers needed players who could make long-range jumps around the reigning MVP. That’s usually the case, but it seemed particularly true on Wednesday as Boston often beats its opponents from behind the arc and the Sixers’ three-point percentage was low. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Sixers entered Wednesday’s game ranked 29th in the NBA in three-point percentage. The Celtics took second place.
Ultimately, the Sixers were able to surpass their season-low of 22 three-point attempts against Indiana by making 30 long-distance shots, making 11 and not-so-good ones against Boston. However, the Celtics still gained a big advantage with three-pointers. They fired 50 and sank 18.
Surprisingly, Robert Covington’s inside-the-arc offense was positive for the Sixers early on. Covington, who started both games in a row, threw down a pair of put-back dunks in the first four minutes. The 32-year-old forward also converted a slant shot and made two free throws late in the shot clock after a nice cut along the baseline.
Springer in the second quarter
The Sixers bench had a terrible first stint.
Boston’s lead grew to 30-18 when Jrue Holiday intercepted a pass from Marcus Morris Sr. and made a layup. Patrick Beverley missed a floater on the Sixers’ final possession of the first quarter and fouled White on the ensuing fast break. The Sixers’ bench players shot 0 for 7 from the floor in the first quarter and the team trailed 39-22 after a jumper by Tatum early in the second quarter.
Again, it’s safe to assume that a Sixers team with both Batum and Oubre would have complemented Embiid better and simply had more talent on the field.
Jaden Springer made it to the Sixers’ bench. At the start of the second quarter, Nurse subbed in for Springer, who had played a total of five minutes in the Sixers’ previous four games. The 21-year-old guard immediately converted the third corner kick. He then stole the ball in the backcourt — the Sixers’ first steal or block of the night — and made an unguarded dunk. Impressive work from a young player making such an immediate impact.
“You don’t know when you’re going to be on the field,” Springer said Nov. 3. “That’s probably the biggest thing: Whenever your name is called, the opportunity to go out there, be ready and perform – whether it’s two minutes, three minutes, five, whatever. Just go out there and play as hard as you can.”
Springer earned the entire second quarter. Although he made a few mistakes on offense, including a running error and a moving screen, he continued to chase the ball, apply defensive pressure and provide the energy needed. Thanks in part to Springer, the Sixers’ defensive activity increased in the second quarter. Covington grabbed two steals in quick succession, Paul Reed jumped up to block a Tatum layup, and Boston’s offense didn’t seem all that comfortable.
Reed’s first three-pointer of the season cut the Celtics’ lead to 49-45. Tobias Harris finished the second quarter strong, scoring five Sixers points in a row toward the end of the quarter. The Sixers outran Boston and built a 62-57 lead early in the third quarter.
Too many flaws for the Sixers to overcome
Three Horford triples in the first 5:01 of the third period gave the Celtics the lead. The final score gave Boston a 70-69 lead, and then Tatum hit an unstoppable superstar jump shot over Harris.
A nurse’s time out couldn’t stop the tide. After two missed foul shots by Beverley late in the third quarter, the Sixers drained a wide-open corner three-pointer from Holiday that gave the Celtics an 83-75 lead.
In addition to such debilitating sequences, what hurt the Sixers was their inability to take advantage of the Celtics’ swarming defense against Embiid. Seconds after Beverley got to the rim and caught a pass from Embiid, he had the chance for a three-pointer, which he shot well from distance. Beverley, Morris, Danuel House Jr. and Furkan Korkmaz went 0-for-9 from the floor. A decent performance from one or two of these players probably would have given the Sixers a great chance to win.
Against Maxey, White tends to show off his all-defensive qualities. He limited the 23-year-old’s touches and opportunities to go downhill, making almost everything a liability. Maxey seemed frustrated again at times with how much physicality was being allowed against him.
Maxey wasn’t very aggressive early on because Embiid was out early in the fourth quarter. On several possession attempts, the Sixers performed dribbling actions that resulted in White successfully denying Maxey the ball. However, everyone else contributed to the Sixers’ offense early in the fourth. Springer sank another Tatum steal and hit a dunk, and a Melton transition three cut Boston’s lead to 89-88.
The game was still close when Embiid returned, but the Sixers then got two unproductive possessions from their stars, which proved costly.
An Embiid turnover led to Tatum rushing the court for a one-one layup. Maxey then raced from the baseline to the rim, but Horford turned and blocked his fourth shot of the night. White made that rejection even more painful as he extended the Celtics’ lead to seven points.
With Boston’s drive-and-kick game humming throughout, that was too big a hill for the Sixers to climb.