BOSTON — A TD Garden worker climbed a yellow ladder set under the basket closest to the Celtics’ bench, delaying the start of Wednesday’s second half as he replaced the net thread by thread.
And with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the ladder and net adjusters returned. The song "Bring ‘Em Out" by T.I. played in the background, but this was not what anybody in the building had in mind.
The new twine could not solve the the Sixers’ offensive woes.
Philly shot 37.1% from the floor in an 88-87 loss to the Celtics Wednesday night to open a four-game road trip that continues Friday at Atlanta before back-to-back games at Charlotte on Monday and next Wednesday.
The Celtics took control when, with the score tied at 82 with about two minutes to play, Jayson Tatum hit a falling jumper, Seth Curry turned the ball over after stepping on the baseline and Dennis Schroder hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game. The Sixers put a scare in Boston when a Danny Green 3-pointer cut the lead to 88-87 with less than 30 seconds to play and Schroder missed on the other end, but Jaylen Brown blocked Georges Niang’s attempt at the buzzer.
This was another offensive clunker for the Sixers. They were able to survive Monday against the tanking and rebuilding Orlando Magic. But they could not overcome Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris combining to shoot 10 of 41 from the floor against a Celtics team that is projected to make the playoffs but entered Wednesday with the same 11-10 record as the Sixers after facing similar roster instability during the early season. Philly played its normal starting lineup in back-to-back games for the first time since Games 5 and 6 in late October.
Curry led the Sixers with 17 points.
Embiid’s struggles
Joel Embiid has struggled from the floor since returning from his bout with COVID-19. But not quite like this.
The All-Star big man missed 14 of his 17 shots Wednesday night, failing to connect under the basket and on jumpers that have typically been smooth throughout his career. The most comfortable he looked was when he stepped into a 3-pointer that gave the Sixers a 59-54 lead with about four minutes to play in the third quarter. Embiid also missed four free throws but contributed 18 rebounds and six assists.
It was Embiid’s worst offensive performance since a November 2019 game against Toronto, when he went 0 for 11 from the field. Later that season, he went 1 for 11 against the Celtics.
But Embiid was uncharacteristically inconsistent with his shot even before he went into health and safety protocols. In a small sample size, he was shooting a career-worst 42.9% from the field entering Wednesday. Earlier in the season, he acknowledged he was still getting adjusted to the NBA’s new ball.
Embiid completely flipped his outing against Minnesota on Saturday, finishing with 42 points in a crushing double-overtime defeat. Two days later against Orlando, he finished 4 of 16.
Yet Embiid was not the only Sixer who struggled from the floor during a first half when Philly shot 34.8% from the floor and 3 of 15 from 3-point range. Harris went 4 of 11, while Maxey went 3 of 13.
Shake’s spark
With the offense sputtering — the Sixers started 3 of 15 from the floor to trail 16-4 — coach Doc Rivers made Shake Milton his first sub about four minutes into the first quarter.
The backup point guard provided the much-needed jolt, making his first five shots including a transition layup to nearly singlehandedly bring the Sixers back from a double-digit deficit and cut Boston’s lead to 21-20. Rivers also put Milton in late in the second quarter, and he delivered the bucket that cut the Celtics’ lead to one in the first half’s final minute. Milton finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Niang, who hails from nearby Lawrence, Mass., was also a factor off the bench, scoring 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting. He connected on a couple of big buckets before subbing out in the fourth quarter, including a finish inside that gave the Sixers a 71-69 lead with less than nine minutes to play.
Hello again, Al Horford
Former Sixers big man Al Hoford looked primed for a big game when he dropped seven points in the game’s first four minutes, including a 3-pointer and two finishes inside against little resistance.
But the Sixers largely held him in check after that. He opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer but did not score again. He also finished the night with eight rebounds. He also guarded Embiid for a large chunk of the night.
Horford did not play against the Sixers last season, when he was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He rested during the teams’ first meeting, then had been excused from the team by the time their second matchup arrived.
