Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from C’s dominating win over the 76ers
The Boston Celtics seem to be an entirely new team since the New Year.
With their 135-87 decimation of the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, the C’s cemented themselves as a real threat in the Eastern Conference.
By picking up their ninth straight win, the Celtics remain perfect in the month of February and are closing in on the fifth place Bucks.
Heading into the contest, Robert Williams III was ruled out due to a calf injury. This meant that Grant Williams would head into the starting lineup.
Tuesday night would also mark the return of Daniel Theis, as the German big was finally available after being re-acquired at this year’s deadline.
Philadelphia found themselves without recently acquired star James Harden. The Sixers announced that the guard would not debut until after the All-Star break, as he continues to rehab his injured hamstring.
The 76ers would have another piece from the Harden-Simmons swap available for Tuesday night’s contest, as veteran big man, Paul Millsap, was not listed on the injury report and would indeed make his Sixers debut.
Although the Boston Celtics were on the road, they still managed to get out to a quick start in the first quarter thanks to Jaylen Brown. After back-to-back rough shooting performances, (6-16 & 4-17) Brown came out scorching hot in the first.
Scoring eleven of the C’s first fourteen points, Brown would help the visitors get out to an early 16-4 lead.
Following the strong start, the rest of the game remained all Boston.
After holding a respectable 32-22 lead after one, the Celtics would explode in the second quarter and outscore Philadelphia 37-20. However, the shamrocks would lose Marcus Smart with just over five minutes to go as he went down hard on a drive to the paint.
Smart would be helped up by teammates and attempt his free throws.
After missing both attempts from the charity stripe, the Boston Celtics would quickly foul and remove Smart from the contest. He would not return after it was announced that he was ruled out with a high ankle sprain.
Despite being without Smart, the Celtics performed well in the second quarter and ran with a 69-42 lead into the half.
Brown would build on his hot start and drop 26 points in the first half, while Jayson Tatum produced 16.
Derrick White continued to make an impact throughout, replacing Marcus Smart as the primary ball-handler.
In his return to the court, Daniel Theis was able to knock down his first 3-point attempt and provide solid relief for Al Horford, as the duo filled in for Robert Williams.
Slow starts from Matisse Thybulle (0-6 shooting) and Tobias Harris (2-7 shooting) prevented the 76ers from gaining ground on Boston’s big lead.
The third quarter proved to be the early nail in the coffin for Philly, as the Celtics poured on 32 more points and held the Sixers to just 16.
The fourth quarter provided Boston with a chance to play a few new pieces and some guys who don’t see regular action.
Aaron Nesmith also was one to benefit from extended minutes, turning in one of his best games as a pro. The second-year wing would finish with a career-high 18 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor and 3-5 shooting from deep in 23 minutes of action.
By pouring in 25 3-point field goals, the Celtics would set a new franchise record for made triples in a single game.
A dominating 135-87 win over the 76ers provided us with many positive takeaways, but we’ll keep it to 3: