featured-image

Keys to the Game: 76ers 105, Celtics 99

jQuery(document).ready(function() { addByline("Taylor C. Snow", "Celtics.com", "taylorcsnow"); keysToTheGame(); });

Key Moment

The Boston Celtics won each of their first three matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers this season in nail-biting fashion.

The two teams stuck to the same theme Sunday afternoon, taking the final game of their season series down to the wire. Only this time, it was Philadelphia that prevailed in the end.

Philly avoided a 4-0, season series sweep as it finished the third and fourth quarters on two strong offensive runs en route to a 105-99 win.

The C’s held a 69-56 advantage midway through the third quarter, but Philadelphia closed out the final 6:38 of the frame on a 20-10 run. Shawn Long logged eight points during the half-quarter stretch, as Philly cut its deficit to just three points entering the fourth quarter.

The two teams found themselves knotted up, 91-91 with 3:41 left in the game, but the 76ers went on another strong offensive run, closing out the fourth with a 14-8 stretch.

It was still a one-possession game with 53 seconds left, after Marcus Smart hit a layup that cut Philadelphia’s lead to 100-97.

Nik Stauskas, however, canned a critical 3-pointer on the 76ers’ next possession that doubled their lead with 38 seconds left. Boston could not answer back, as it missed all five of its field goal attempts from that point forward.

Key Player

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics in scoring during 32 consecutive contests before missing this weekend’s road trip due to a knee injury.

In the meantime, Boston knew it would have to find some new faces to carry the scoring load.

Jae Crowder took the offensive reigns Friday night, scoring 24 points during a 98-95 win over the Nets in Brooklyn.

Sunday afternoon, it was Al Horford’s turn to run the show in Philadelphia.

Horford logged a season-high 27 points, connecting on 11 of his 16 shot attempts. Fifteen of those points came during the third quarter when he shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.

The veteran big man added eight rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots, while committing just one turnover.

Box Score Nuggets

  • Al Horford logged a season-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting.
  • Dario Saric was the leading scorer for Philadelphia, finsihing with 23 points.
  • The Celtics shot 34-for-85 (40 percent) from the field for the second straight game.
  • Terry Rozier notched his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
  • Philadelphia edged Boston in the rebounding department, 42-41.
  • Marcus Smart dished out a game-high eight assists.
  • The 76ers bench outscored the C's reserves, 43-34.
  • Richaun Holmes led the contest with four blocked shots.
  • Five players recoreded two steals.
  • The game featured nine ties.

Quote of the Night

Al Horford on Philadelphia's comeback.