PHILADELPHIA, PA–The Philadelphia 76ers had themselves a big day on Tuesday as they welcomed James Harden to the City of Brotherly Love with a big press conference, they were set to take on the rival Boston Celtics in an important matchup. It was the final time these teams will see each other and Philadelphia could take the season series with a win.
The Celtics were having none of it. Even with Harden coming out to ring the bell and all of the momentum for the Sixers, the Celtics jumped on Philadelphia early as they built a 12-point lead in the first quarter which then ballooned to a 27-point halftime lead and it grew to 45 in the third quarter. Boston waltzed to an easy 135-87 win as they were 25-for-45 from deep on the night. In comparison, the Sixers only made eight triples.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists which ends a streak of 23 straight games with 25 points, Tyrese Maxey had 11 points, and Georges Niang added nine points. Paul Millsap added nine points in his Sixers debut.
Here are the player grades following the blowout loss: