The Philadelphia 76ers had the kind of marquee matchup that comes with noise, expectations and a little extra edge. Boston came to town on Tuesday night for the first of four meetings between the teams this season, and the buzz was only louder because of the natural rivalry and the Celtics’ decision to trade star forward Jaylen Brown to the Sixers over the summer.
For a while, the game matched the buildup. It was tight and competitive for most of the night before Boston took control in the fourth quarter and rolled to a 123-101 win. The result moved the Celtics past Philadelphia into first place in the Eastern Conference standings, with the Sixers dropping to second.
The teams won’t wait long for the next chapter. Philadelphia gets another crack at Boston on Jan. 21.
Brown’s first game against his former team was rough from the start and never really recovered. Foul trouble disrupted his night early, and he never found a rhythm. In 26 minutes, he finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, along with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and four turnovers.
He seemed intent on making a quick statement against the franchise that moved him, but that urgency worked against him. The early fouls took him out of sync, and Boston’s game plan kept him from ever settling in. Meanwhile, Paul George, the player Brown was traded for, delivered the stronger performance, putting up 36 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
Not everything was bleak for Philadelphia. Dean Wade gave the Sixers useful minutes off the bench and brought a little life on the offensive end. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, scored eight points and continued to provide the kind of flexible defense the team has leaned on all season.
Wade also came down with a season-high nine rebounds, which led the Sixers despite his 23 minutes on the floor. That kind of production will matter more and more if Philadelphia wants more from him offensively going forward, especially since he has been quiet for much of the season.
The other concern was LeBron James, who simply didn’t have much of a footprint on the game. There were long stretches when he was barely involved, a rare sight for a player whose career has been built on controlling the flow of games.
James ended with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, shooting 4-for-12 from the field and 1-for-6 from three. It was a difficult night, and the Sixers will need more from him if they’re going to come close to the ceiling they believe they have.
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Sixers Got The Relief They Needed After Joel Embiid's Early Scare
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