The Boston Celtics put six players in double figures on Friday night, and took a 2-1 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers with a 114-102 win at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia in game two of an Eastern Conference Semifinal Playoff matchup.
Boston got off to an impressive road start as three-pointers by Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and two by Jayson Tatum allowed the Celtics to take a 14-4 lead just 2:25 into action. A 14-4 run though by Philadelphia to end the quarter had the 76ers up 29-28 after 12 minutes. The guests regained control and went back in front 38-36 on another Smart three-pointer, as they would then increase their advantage to as many as eight and held a 57-50 halftime lead.
A three-pointer by Al Horford, a layup by Tatum, and a three point play by Jaylen Brown made it 65-53 Boston early in the third quarter. Philadelphia would rally within 74-72 on a three-pointer by P.J. Tucker, and had a chance to take the lead but James Harden who has struggled since game one would miss from behind the arc. An 8-0 spurt late in the period pushed it back to 12 for the Celtics at 88-76. They took their biggest lead at 13 on a couple occasions early in the fourth. The 76ers made one more run at it and a layup by Joel Embiid sliced it to 100-96 with 3:51 to play. That is as close as they’d get as the C’s put it away down the stretch scoring 14 of the final 20 points of the game.
Embiid led Philadelphia in the loss and had a game-high 30 points to go along with 13 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and four blocked shots. Harden finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists. De’Anthony Melton chipped in 14 points, Tyrese Maxey 13, and Georges Niang had 10 for the 76ers. Harden since his 45 point shooting performance in a game one win (17-30, 7-14 three-pointers), has a total of 28 points since (5-28, 2-13 three-pointers). Tatum had 27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals to lead Boston to the win. Brown added 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Also in double figures was Horford with 17 points (5-7 three-pointers) and seven rebounds, Smart and Malcolm Brogdon with 15 points each, and White with 13. Game four is Sunday in Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m.
Story by Chris Lessner/Video highlights courtesy of the NBA website
