The Boston Celtics recorded a historic win against the Philadelphia 76ers. The score was 135-87, which is the biggest point differential in a game played between the 2 franchises in their history. The Celtics were led to victory by their 2 young superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown had 29 points and 8 rebounds while Tatum had a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
The Celtics had 3 other players with double-digit scoring ( Aaron Nesmith – 18 points, Derrick White – 11 points, and Grant Williams – 12 points) who supported their superstar duo. They also had a great defensive performance from centre Daniel Theis, who had 4 blocks and 9 rebounds. While the Celtics played well, the loss was a complete collapse by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers had an extremely disappointing performance, with not even a single player scoring 20 or more points. The most disappointing performance came from MVP front-runner, Joel Embiid. Embiid had only 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. While he lead the team in all 3 ( points, rebounds, and assists), it was nothing to be proud of especially with expectations on him as an MVP candidate. The only other 76er with double-digit scoring was Tyrese Maxey who had 11 points.
The loss is extremely disappointing because of the historic rivalry between the 2 franchises, which goes back to the ’60s. From battles between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to Julius Erving (Dr J) and Larry Bird in the late ’70s and early ’80s to today the rivalry has continued to exist. The loss was the worst for the 76ers against the Celtics in 457 of their meetings throughout their history.
With the win, the Celtics extend their win streak to 9 games and have the longest existing win streak in the league right now. The Celtics have risen the standings in the east over the past few weeks and the win brings them closer to being in contention for the top seed in the east. The Celtics have a 34-25 record right now and are only 3.5 games behind the 1 seed Miami Heat. The team seems to have overcome their early-season struggles and could be a tough matchup for any team in the playoffs.
