The Boston Celtics showed up for Thursday night’s contest with Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia 76ers ready to play for the first game in over a week, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
The game was close from the tip until the start of the second, when Boston built a 15-point lead — only to see it shrink to a 55-48 lead at the half, and nothing soon after.
Starting point guard Kemba Walker injured his thumb near the end of the first half — his second collision-related issue in 24 hours — after colliding with reserve forward Mike Scott, but was able to return in the second half with no apparent issue.
Even without starting center Joel Embiid, out after tearing a ligament in a finger earlier in the week against the Oklahoma City Thunder, The Celtics simply couldn’t hang on to a lead, fading in the third quarter for their third straight loss.
Shooting guard Josh Richardson in particular was a problem for Boston, scoring 29 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Sixers with 9-of-16 shooting, while point guard Ben Simmons had 19 points and 9 rebounds for Philly on 9-of-15 shooting.
Tobias Harris also had 16 points and 7 boards for the 76ers.
Boston saw Walker lead the way with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting despite the jammed thumb, and reserve guard Marcus Smart has 24 points off the bench on sizzling 9-of-14 shooting with five of his seven treys going in.
Swingman Jayson Tatum logged 15 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
Jaylen Brown struggled considerably against Philly’s length, going just 2-for-12 despite hitting half of his four 3-point attempts.
The Celtics fall to 25-11 and a game-and-a-half behind the second-place Miami Heat, with the fourth-place Toronto Raptors now just one game behind them.
The Boston Celtics next play the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, January 11th at 7pm ET.
