Boston Celtics ticked into the All-Star break, while the Philadelphia 76ers limped for the first half.
Celtics has won seven of its last eight matches and Sixers has lost seven out of eight on the way to Thursday’s meeting in Philadelphia.
In Boston’s strong finish to the first half, a victory was 118-110 over Sixers on February 2, where the defending NBA champions gathered from a 26-point deficit late in the third quarter.
“I told the guys: In the NBA you get some chances that where you really see your guys do something special during the regular season and I felt their attitude to it was there,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla that day.
Of course, Sixers was in a completely different mood afterwards.
“Tonight was unacceptable,” said forward Ricky Council IV. “I guess 26 was the highest (margin). It’s unacceptable. It doesn’t matter who we are playing. We are fighting, but we’re tired of fighting. We have to turn that battle into a win.”
That game turned out to be a measure of revenge for Celtics, which lost at home against Philadelphia on Christmas Day. This is the third of four meetings between the Atlantic Division Rival, which will cooperate in Boston on March 6.
Meanwhile, Sixers looks to stop the bleeding after losing their last five matches on the way into the break.
They absorbed a disappointing loss of 100-96 to Brooklyn Nets in their last game on February 12. Kelly Oubre Jr. And the newcomer Quentin Grimes got 30 points per piece, but Paul George succeeded only two points on 1-7 shooting.
“They just got me,” said George, whose seasonal average of 16.1 points is down significantly from his main year. “They just blitzed me every time I had the ball. … We got good pictures for the most part. Just raged enough shots.”
Joel Embiid (knee) missed that game – he actually only played in 17 matches this season – but the former MVP was a complete participant at the exercise Tuesday.
“Good today,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse about Embiid. “Everyone looked like they had some days off and (each) fresh.”
Tyrese Maxey (knee) also practiced on Tuesday. Philadelphia will surely need all its available firepower to fight with Boston’s range.
Jayson Tatum wrapped the first half of the season with 32 points and 14 returns in an 116-103 triumph over San Antonio Spurs on February 12. He is an average of 27.0 points per match for first place Celtics, while Jaylen Brown adds 22.9 points per match.
In addition, Kristaps Porzingis comes from one of his best matches in the season-one 29-point effort on 10-AV-16 shooting in the victory over San Antonio.
“I think happiness is starting to turn us, and that’s it,” Porzingis said. “We just have to stay with it, and I think I, as I said before, look like a team that will win everything again.”
-Field level media
