The Boston Celtics weren’t able to overcome a dreadful offensive first half, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers on the road on Tuesday night, 102-100.
After leading by as many as nine in the fourth quarter, the Joel Embiid-less 76ers came storming back thanks to Justin Edwards going nuclear, scoring his first 22 points on perfect shooting.
With just 8.7 seconds remaining, Kelly Oubre Jr. fought through Jaylen Brown to tip-in an offensive rebound off of Edwards’ lone miss of the night to take the lead. The Celtics last ditch effort wasn’t enough as a Derrick White three was air-balled.
After a slow first half, Brown was able to get going offensively, scoring 24 on 8-for-18 shooting. The Celtics did win the rebounding battle 53-44, but ultimately it was an offensive rebound that killed them in the final seconds.
Boston’s first half on the offensive end was about as ugly as it can get in the National Basketball Association. The Celtics shot 28% from the field, including 19% from deep in the first 24 minutes.
More specifically it was the starting lineup that could not make a shot. Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard shot a combined 2-20 from the field in the first half. Instead it was the bench who was able to keep pace with the 76ers.
Anfernee Simons entered the first quarter off the bench and immediately made a big impact, hitting a three and following it up with a nice feed to Luka Garza down low for two. The big man continued to be effective after his solid performance on Sunday in Orlando, scoring seven while also grabbing seven off the glass.
Philadelphia, without Joel Embiid, couldn’t pull away from the sluggish Cs in the first quarter, but the second was a different story. The 76ers ran off a 15-2 run, led by Edwards who knocked in six points and also assisted on a VJ Edgecombe triple.
Andre Drummond surprisingly led all scorers in the first half, hitting all four of his attempts for 10 points. Tyrese Maxey had a fast start with eight first quarter points, but was held scoreless in the second.
Derrick White ended the second quarter with a string of possessions that was symbolmatic of the entire first half, clanking a wide open corner three and following it up by losing his dribble, drawing a backcourt violation.
After the starters ended the half shooting a combined 5-for-25, the Celtics were lucky to be down just 10 as Philadelphia led 51-41 at the break.
Despite the dreadful start, Boston did have some hope as the 76ers have been the worst third quarter team both offensively and defensively in the entire league.
The Celtics looked like a completely different team, rattling off an 11-0 run in the opening minutes of the frame to retake the lead. Boston was much more aggressive to open, hitting four-straight shots inside the arc.
Jordan Walsh also continued to show some promise after his game-sealing triple against the Magic, scoring five points including a corner three to get the offense rolling. The third-year player was making energizing plays on both sides, snagging two steals while also rejecting two shots.
But what allowed the Celtics to build a nine-point lead was Brown and White finally waking up.
Brown was on fire, scoring 14 from all over the court, finding a lot of success with his midrange shot. White also got red hot, connecting on three triples down the stretch of the third to finish the quarter with 13 points.
On the other end Philadelphia was also struggling mightily, only reaching 20 points thanks to a Quentin Grimes half-court heave. A double digit halftime deficit turned into a six-point lead for Boston going into the fourth quarter.
While Philly is the worst third quarter team in the league, it is also the best fourth quarter team, leading the Association in point differential.
Simons kept the deadly fourth quarter 76ers at bay early in the fourth, scoring 10 points in the first four minutes. But Grimes kept the momentum going after his half-court shot, hitting another three to bring his total up to 18.
Once again up nine with six minutes to go, the Celtics were positioning for the close out, but Justin Edwards had different ideas. The Kentucky product was on another level, especially in the fourth. Edwards two-straight triples to retake the lead for Philly. At that point Edwards had 22 points on perfect 8-for-8 shooting.
Now down 100-96 with less than a minute to go it was once against White and Brown who stepped up. After an unsuccessful Philadelphia challenge that would have made it a six-point game, White drilled a deep three to cut it to one. Brown followed it up by drawing a shooting foul, but only managed to split his free throws, tying the game at 100.
On the other end the ball found Edwards once again — and he finally missed.
It might have caught the Celtics off guard too as Oubre was able to tip in an offensive rebound with 8.7 seconds remaining to win the game for Philadelphia.
Boston will return home on Wednesday to take on the Memphis Grizzlies at the TD Garden. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
