3 observations after Sixers-Celtics season series ends with blowout Boston win
Sixers continue free-fall with blowout loss to Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
The Sixers’ efforts to even up their season series against the Celtics were in vain.
Boston earned a 123-105 victory Thursday night at TD Garden to polish off a 3-1 win in the season series.
The Sixers fell to 21-41 and the Celtics improved to 45-18.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum scored 35 points in 31 minutes.
As usual this season, the Sixers had a sizable list of injured players:
Boston was also without a slew of key players on the second night of a back-to-back, including Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
The Sixers will return home and face the Jazz on Sunday night. Here are observations on their loss in Boston:
After dropping 41 points the night before vs. the Trail Blazers, Derrick White made a three-pointer to open the scoring. White and Tatum totaled 28 of Boston’s 35 first-quarter points and had success against both man-to-man and zone defenses.
Meanwhile, the Sixers’ starting backcourt of Quentin Grimes and Oubre combined to miss their first eight field goals.
Justin Edwards returned to the Sixers’ starting lineup after sitting out the team’s loss Tuesday to the Timberwolves with a left ankle sprain. He was ready to roll, scoring the Sixers’ first five points on a short jumper and a swished three-pointer.
On the other end, Edwards began the game as the Sixers’ primary defender on Tatum. He certainly looked like a rookie at times with that assignment.
Edwards got caught on screens, let Tatum reject picks and penetrate into the paint, and didn’t have much luck trying to contain the six-time All-Star. Tatum put the Celtics up 33-19 with a fast-break dunk.
Facing the team that waived him in October, Lonnie Walker IV hit three three-pointers off the Sixers’ bench in the first quarter. Walker had his most points yet as a Sixer, recording 17.
However, the Celtics were still decisively superior in the bench scoring department.
Sixth Man of the Year favorite Payton Pritchard torched the Sixers back on Feb. 20, draining eight threes in a 28-point performance. He again produced plenty Thursday, tallying 19 points and six assists. Pritchard’s third triple extended Boston’s lead to 63-43 late in the second quarter.
The Sixers’ sloppiness (12 first-half turnovers) helped to fuel the Celtics’ bench. Rookie Baylor Scheierman posted 15 points, Torrey Craig added 12, and Boston finished the night with a 59-45 edge in second-unit scoring.
The Sixers’ bench rotation included Walker, Jared Butler, Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Adem Bona. Ricky Council IV and two-way contract player Alex Reese appeared in fourth-quarter garbage time.
After Oubre’s cold start, his shots eventually started falling. He reached his fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points when he sunk a three-pointer in the third quarter.
Oubre did his typical aggressive work as a driver and knocked out one of White’s teeth in the second quarter with an inadvertent elbow to the face. White exited the game but returned for the second half.
With Oubre leading the way, the Sixers didn’t see the game as a lost cause and played a good, spirited third quarter. An and-one Oubre hoop cut the Sixers’ deficit to 87-77.
The undermanned Sixers couldn’t sustain momentum, though. Their energy understandably dipped and Boston’s lead ballooned to 107-79 on a big Neemias Queta dunk early in the fourth quarter. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse called timeout and subbed out Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele for the night, inserting Dowtin and Reese.
As has regularly been the case this season, the Sixers had a bright spot or two but couldn’t defy the odds to pull off a shorthanded win.
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Tatum has his way vs. Edwards
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By Noah Levick • Published March 6, 2025 • Updated on March 6, 2025 at 10:00 pm
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105 | FINAL | 123 |  |
| TD Garden, Boston, MA | March 6, 2025 |
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| Jayson Tatum | Neemias Queta | Derrick White | Baylor Scheierman | Boston Celtics | Boston Celtics |
| 35 Points | 9 Rebounds | 6 Assists | 15 Points | 59 Bench Points | 16 Offensive Rebounds |
Tatum and the Stay Ready Group come up huge in Celtics 123-105 win over 76ers
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With five players out for the Celtics, the bench showed up in dominant fashion
Coming off a historic win against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Celtics matched up against the Philadelphia 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back. Both teams were shorthanded in this matchup and it was the Celtics who came out on top 123-105.
Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics with 35 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals on 14-23 shooting. The Stay Ready Group came up huge for the Celtics as the bench scored 59 points led by Payton Pritchard (19 points), Baylor Scheierman, (15 points), and Torrey Craig (12 points).
With Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis out, it was good to see everyone on the bench contribute in a meaningful way. The Celtics had a hot shooting night overall as they shot 50.5% from the field and 40% from three as a team.
After a career-high 41 points on 9 three pointers the night before, Derrick White fittingly started the game with two more threes and 8 points in the first two minutes. Drew Peterson made his first career NBA start tonight and showed off his defense early as he forced a turnover and found Jayson Tatum for an easy basket.
Just like White, after scoring a career high 43 points on 10 threes the game before, Payton Pritchard checked in and hit his first three, but the first quarter belonged to Jayson Tatum. Tatum tied his career high in first quarter scoring with 18 points on 8-10 shooting and just picked apart the 76ers defense.
Philadelphia tried to stay in the game as former training camp Celtic Lonnie Walker scored 9 points on 3-3 from three point range, but were still trailing Boston 35-24 at the end of the first. The Celtics shot an absurd 66.7% from the field and 45.5% from three in the first quarter, dominating the short handed 76ers.
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Tatum started the second quarter, but it was Torrey Craig that led the Celtics offense as he scored Boston’s first 7 points of the quarter including a crazy put back dunk on a Neemias Queta miss.
Derrick White went back to the locker room mid-way through the second quarter after taking an elbow to the face from Kelly Oubre and it looked like he got another tooth knocked out.
With White out, it was Baylor Scheierman who stepped up in his place. He scored a career high 8 points in the second quarter and made a couple great hustle plays that led to second chance opportunities for the Celtics.
After a chaotic end to the quarter where both teams couldn’t grab a defensive rebound, Boston took a 64-46 lead into the break. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals on 9-15 shooting at the half while Kelly Oubre and Lonnie Walker led the 76ers with 11 points.
Boston also got some big production from the stay ready group as the Celtics bench scored 29 points in the first half with the main contributors being Payton Pritchard (11 points), Torrey Craig (10 points) and Baylor Scheierman (8 points). The Celtics hot shooting continued in the second quarter as they finished the first half shooting 50% from the field and 41% from three.
There was good news for the Celtics to start the third quarter as Derrick White returned to the game after getting his tooth knocked out. Tatum picked up right where he left off at the end of the first half as he scored 8 of the Celtics first 12 points of the second half while Luke Kornet scored the other 4 points.
Kelly Oubre started to get the 76ers back in the game with 16 points in the third quarter and led Philadelphia on a 14-5 run to cut the Celtics lead to 10. Boston countered with a 10-2 run of their own to end the third quarter with a 97-79 lead.
Tatum scored 15 points in the third quarter to bring his total to 35 points and Baylor Scheierman knocked down another three for his first double digit scoring game of his NBA career. Kelly Oubre finished the third quarter with 27 points as the 76ers tried to make a comeback.
The Celtics started the fourth quarter on a 12-0 run including 6 straight points from Neemias Queta top open their lead to 28 points.
The Celtics took out their starters when the lead hit 30 points as new two-way signing Miles Norris checked in for his NBA debut. Xavier Tillman played some solid minutes to end the fourth quarter as he put the game away for a Celtics victory.
The Celtics next game is on Saturday March 8th at 8:30 pm against LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
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