BOSTON CELTICS 135 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 87 FEB. 15, 2022
February 16, 2022
The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at The Center, 135-87. Philadelphia sits at 34-23 on the year which leaves them at the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference.
On Tuesday, Philadelphia totaled seven steals as a team, extending its streak of five-steal games to six which ties the team’s second-longest streak of the season (Stathead).
Against Boston, 15-year vet PAUL MILLSAP made his 76er debut. In nine minutes, he scored nine points (2-2 3FG) and hauled in three offensive rebounds, making this his third-highest scoring game of the season.
This shooting performance was the first time since May 16, 2021, where Millsap had at least two made three-pointers (Stathead).
Along with Millsap, All-Star starter, JOEL EMBIID led the team in scoring with 19 points (13-16 FT), nine rebounds, six assists, and a block. This brought an end to Embiid’s 23-game streak with at least 25 points which is the longest such streak this season and the second-longest in team history (Stathead).
In the first half, Embiid scored 17 of his points with seven boards and five dimes, making him one of nine players to have multiple first halves with at least 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Embiid is fourth in the NBA with an average of 14.4 points per first half (Stathead/NBA.com/stats).
His performance from the line gave him his ninth game with at least 13 makes from the charity stripe which leads the NBA. His 38 such games since 2017-18 are second to now-teammate JAMES HARDEN (62), per Stathead.
Also offensively, Embiid now has 20 games of at least five assists this season. This number ties the most he’s had for a single season of his career after having 20 such games in 2018-19 (Stathead).
Dating back to Jan. 21, Embiid is averaging 5.4 assists along with 32.8 points and 12.6 rebounds, making him the lone player to have such averages over that span (NBA.com/stats).
In the win against Philadelphia, Boston earned its ninth consecutive win. JAYLEN BROWN led the team scoring 29 points on 10-17 shooting from the field. Brown also scored 26 of his points in the first half. JAYSON TATUM contributed to the win scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds making this his 18th double-double of the season.
Off the bench, both DERRICK WHITE and AARON NESMITH both scored in double-digits. With Nesmith scoring a career-high 18 points.
With the win, the Celtics tied the season series 2-2 against the 76ers.
NEXT UP: The 76ers head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks in their final game before the All-Star break. The Bucks won the first matchup between these teams on Nov. 9, 2021. The game will be played at 8:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised on TNT and available on the radio on 97.5 The Fanatic.