The Boston Celtics have been a thorn in the side of the Philadelphia 76ers for the past few years. They have dominated the regular-season matchups, they beat the Sixers in five quick games in the 2018 Eastern semifinals, and they swept Philadelphia in the 2020 playoffs.
On Tuesday, the Sixers knocked off the Celtics 106-96 on the road for a season sweep of their rivals. It is the first time Philadelphia swept Boston in the regular season since the 2000-01 season when Allen Iverson was still scoring at a high clip in order to get the job done.
This is one of those really important moments for a franchise and that rang true for Joel Embiid who has had his issues with the Celtics all throughout his career. He dropped 35 points while knocking down 16 of 20 free throws in the win.
“Against Boston, that’s our rival,” said Embiid. “They’ve got a great team, they got a lot of great talent, great coaching. Those are the games you really want to win. Especially for me because I’ve been here for so long and that’s a rivalry that’s very important for me, and also for the city of Philadelphia.”
This is also an impressive stretch for Philadelphia as they swept a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the previous four seasons. They have been at the top of the East for quite some time and this is something the Sixers really needed when it came to their confidence.
“This is one of the teams that whether we’ve swept them or not, the last three years, they’ve been at the top of the East,” said coach Doc Rivers. “It’s great that we did it, it gives us a lot of confidence. Having said that, we’re not finished yet. I would say that. We still have work to do.”
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At the same time, what happened in the playoffs in the past does not matter right now. This is a new team, a new season, a new roster, and this is something that they can move forward with.
“It’s not just about what happened to playoffs, every single year, you want to win this matchup,” Embiid added. “You want to play well against them and you want to win all these games. This year hasn’t been different, obviously, you say we won those three games, that’s the mindset we got to have against every team.”
The Sixers will now look to move forward when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday to continue the road trip.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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