Sixers Trip Up Celtics, 105-99

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics, 105-99, at Wells Fargo
Center on Sunday afternoon. The Celtics (44-26) had come into Sunday just 1.5
games behind the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, with
a golden opportunity to make up further ground. They knew they’d have a
challenge on their hands, however, as the Sixers (26-43) had been playing much
better basketball than their record indicated and they’d also be missing team
MVP Isaiah Thomas for a second straight contest with knee soreness. Accordingly,
Philadelphia managed to play spoiler effectively, overcoming a 13-point
fourth-quarter deficit. Thomas’ absence certainly helped the Sixers’ cause, but
they earned the upset victory by limiting Boston to 40 percent shooting from the
field and 20.7 percent from three-point range, while also forcing 17 turnovers.
Al Horford paced the Celtics with 27 points, a total he supplemented with eight
boards, six assists, two blocks and one steal. Jae Crowder filled out the stat
sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one steal. Terry Rozier
was next with a bench-leading 14-point, 10-rebound double-double that also
included two assists and one steal. Avery Bradley supplied 13 points, three
rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kelly Olynyk was productive off the bench
as well with 12 points, one rebound and one assist. Marcus Smart drew a second
straight start in Thomas’ stead and chipped in eight points, eight assists, six
rebounds and two steals. Dario Saric led the Sixers with 23 points, six
rebounds, four assists and two steals. Robert Covington tallied 16 points, eight
rebounds and two steals and drained the go-ahead three-pointer in the fourth
period. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot supplied 13 points, two boards and one assist.
Jahlil Okafor exited early with knee soreness after 12 minutes, posting four
points and one rebound before heading to the bench. A trio of nine-point efforts
from Sergio Rodriguez, Gerald Henderson and Nik Stauskas paced the reserves. The
Celtics return home to tangle with the Washington Wizards on Monday evening,
while the Sixers head to Central Florida for a Monday night date with the
Orlando Magic.