Celtics stats snapshot: Turnovers, lack of assists, free throws doom Boston vs. 76ers

You can’t win a game when you beat yourself.

The Boston Celtics made one less assist (19) than Philadelphia 76ers big man and Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid made free throw attempts (20) in Tuesday’s 106 – 96 home loss to the Sixers.

Ball movement has been the decisive factor across the bulk of the Celtics games, with the team winning 16 of 20 out of their highest team assist total games, with nearly the inverse being the case for their lowest-assist games, having dropped all but 6 of their 20 worst nights dishing out dimes. Tuesday night’s debacle was tied for their fifth-worst outing in that regard with 19 on the night, the season low coming in a loss to the lowly Washington Wizards on Feb. 14 with just 14 assists in the game.

But that wasn’t the only way the Celtics got in their own way against Philly.