This victory did not come easy for the Sixers. It was a hard-fought game that they started from behind.

The Celtics started the game strong, using a balanced offense to surge to a 35-26 advantage after the first quarter. However, they seemed to fade progressively throughout the game. The fact that this was their second game of a back-to-back and their fifth in seven nights probably had something to do with it.

The next two quarters saw the Celtics get outscored 45-51, even though they were able to push their lead to 15 points at one point in the second.

The Celtics had it within 2 with 4:30 left thanks to a drive from center Daniel Theis, but the Sixers went on a 9-0 run to push to 11 with 1:38 left in the game. A couple of back-to-back baskets from Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart got the game to within 7, but that’s the closest that the Celtics would get in the dying moments.

The visitors simply couldn’t get a rebound in the final minute. Two huge offensive rebounds by Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle allowed Philadelphia to run the clock down all the way to 28.1 left before Tatum was finally able to foul and force some free throws.

A fourth quarter that finished 32-18 the is the best indicator of the Celtics not having enough in the tank.

Joel Embiid’s torn ligament in his left hand meant that his presence in the post was sorely missed, especially his defense and shot blocking. The rest of the team did a great job of soldiering on without their star big man, though.

Former Celtic Al Horford (17 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) had a decent game, and Josh Richardson (29 PTS, 3 REB, 7 AST) came up big especially down the stretch. Ben Simmons (19 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST) was his usual self – finding ways to contribute all over the court.

Tobias Harris put it back to 4 with less than 5 remaining.

Today’s win helped the Sixers take the season series against the Celtics. This will be important for the tiebreaker for playoff seeding. It’s a good time for Philly to grab their second win in a row, as well, because they have a couple of tough road games against the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers coming up before returning home to face the Brooklyn Nets.

Kemba Walker (26 points, 2 REB, 3 AST) looked like he had a decent game, but he also finished with a game-worst plus/minus rating of -20. Jayson Tatum (15 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK) was the only other starter to score in double figures but he had an awful night from the field, going 4 of 13 overall and 1 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Marcus Smart (24 PTS, 1 AST, 3 STL) had a good game off the bench and finished with a +4 rating.