The Philadelphia 76ers fell into a two-game hole with a 128 – 101 blowout win as the Boston Celtics put their foot on the neck of their Atlantic Division rivals, even without veteran forward Gordon Hayward, out for at least four weeks with a severe ankle sprain.
The Sixers came out strong, even taking a 13-point lead in the first half, with the Celtics battling back and taking a sizeable lead into the half. That lead would balloon into a monster of a hole for Philly in the second half, as All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and star shooting guard Jaylen Brown got hot.
Tatum put up 33 points, 5 rebounds and as many assists, Brown added 20 points and 5 boards while All-Star point guard Kemba Walker scored an efficient 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
But, it was the bench stepping up and scoring 41 points in Hayward’s absence that really turned the tide, setting up the Celtics for a potential sweep of the 76ers.
Watch the video embedded above to see all of the action with none of the dead ball moments, and try not to start thinking of the second round just yet.
[lawrence-related id=40929,40926,40893,40887]