76ers 98, Celtics 97

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Kendrick Perkins rises high to defend an Andre Iguodala fade-away jumper along the baseline.
Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

The Celtics blew a 15-point second half lead tonight for what may be their most debilitating loss of the season. After jumping out to a hot start and showing tons of hustle (grabbing 20 rebounds in the first quarter) the team lagged in the second half and three key plays wound up sending the team to their first loss in 12 contests.

Key Play No. 1: Rasheed Wallace committed an offensive foul with 6:16 remaining in the second quarter that he clearly didn't agree with. But that wasn't the big play. What really changed the game was that 41 seconds later, in the middle of a Celtics timeout, Wallace continued to argue with the referees and wound up getting two technical fouls that resulted in his ejection from the game. With him back in the locker room, Boston lost their most important weapon off the bench that would have played an integral role in the C's staving off the Sixers tonight down the stretch.

Key Play No. 2: Boston had just scored five straight points to take a two-point lead on a Ray Allen 3-pointer. Philadelphia called a timeout to stop the Celtics momentum, and Eddie Jordan drew up a play for his Sixers team. Out of the timeout, rookie Jrue Holiday attempted a handoff to his teammate but Pierce wound up taking it like a quarterback-running back exchange. He sped down the court in front of his defender and rose up for a dunk, but might have tried to put a little too much emphasis on it and clanked it off the back of the rim. Had that dunk went in, the Celtics would have gone up by four points and had complete momentum with less than four minutes remaining in the game. Instead, it remained a one-possession game, and the Sixers were able to fight back from there.

Key Play No. 3: After Kevin Garnett hit two free throws to give Boston a one-point lead with 23 seconds remaining, Philadelphia came out of a timeout and wound up running an isolation play for Marreese Speights at the right elbow. He dribbled to his left against Kendrick Perkins and forced up a wild shot that no one in the building thought would fall. It did, in fact, miss, but Elton Brand snuck between all of the Celtics and tipped the rebound home for the winning points.

Key Box Score Line

Kendrick Perkins had what might have been his best game of the season tonight as he dominated the boards and shot effectively from the field. Perk finished with eight boards at both ends of the court, totaling 16 in all, and also chipped in 12 points. He helped the Celtics start out hot with their 20-rebound quarter, but the dominance on the glass faded as the game went on.

Box Score Nuggets

• Three Sixers starters finished the game with less than 10 points.
• Rasheed Wallace had five points and three rebounds in just nine minutes of play before his ejection.
• Boston had 20 rebounds in the first quarter, but just 26 total over the final three.
• The Celtics won every main statistical category (excluding free thwos, where the Sixers made 24 and Boston made 20), but still lost the game.
• Paul Pierce continued his offensive struggles and scored only nine points tonight, including a miss on the Celtics' final possession that could have won the game.
• Rajon Rondo recorded another double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
• Kevin Garnett also had a great game with 21 points and 10 boards.
• Elton Brand (23 points, eight rebounds) and Marreese Speights (17 points, 10 rebounds) combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds off the bench.
• Tony Allen scored 10 points off the bench for Boston in his best game since returning from an ankle injury.
• The Celtics outscored Philadelphia 52-40 in the paint.
• Ray Allen was presented with the game ball from the Celtics' win on Dec. 10 in Washington, where he broke the 20,000 point barrier.

Quote of the Night

Paul Pierce on the team's struggles at home this season: "Most important of all, we gotta do a better job of playing at home. I don't know what the problem is about us playing at home this year. We gotta come out with a little bit more energy from start to finish."