PHILADELPHIA _ Next man up, the 76ers said.
That was the theme heading into their 109-98 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers were without franchise player Joel Embiid, who will have surgery Friday in New York to repair a torn ligament in his left ring finger. He will be evaluated in one to two weeks.
"Next-man-up mentality," Tobias Harris said before the game. "There is not much thinking to it. This is what we have all been able to do our whole life, play this game, so just be ready to go."
That mentality enabled the Sixers come from behind against their Atlantic Division rival. The Celtics led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
The victory improved the Sixers to 25-14 and was their second straight home win after losing four straight on the road. They also improved to 3-0 this season against the Celtics (25-11). The teams will play their fourth and final regular-season matchup Feb. 1 in Boston.
Al Horford started at center in place of Embiid. Mike Scott started in place of Horford at power forward. They were joined by normal starters Harris, Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons.
Two-way player Norvel Pelle backed up Horford at center. The two post players made the most of their opportunities on a night when Richardson finished with a game-high 29 points.
Horford, who played center the last three seasons in Boston, finished with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting _ including making 2 of 3 3-pointers. The 13-year veteran and five-time All-Star also added eight rebounds, six assists and a steal.
Pelle had six points on 3-for-3 shooting to go with four rebounds and two blocks in 12 minutes, 38 seconds. He has only five days left toward the maximum number of days (45) an NBA team is allowed to bring up a player on a two-way contract.
Simmons added 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a steal. Harris was the other double-figure scorer with 16 points.
Kemba Walker paced the Celtics with 26 points. Marcus Smart added 24 points in a reserve role.
The Sixers improved to 18-2 at home.
