BOSTON — It was a Merry Christmas indeed for the Celtics.
Behind an incredible 40-point performance from Kyrie Irving, the Celtics battled tooth and nail to earn a wild 121-114 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.
The C’s took control of the contest through the first two quarters, only to have the 76ers punch back throughout the second half. But in the end, Boston flexed its muscles to boost its head-to-head record over Philadelphia on the season to 2-0.
In addition to Irving, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris both shined with 23 points apiece, while Joel Embiid was stellar with a team-high 34 points to go along with 16 rebounds.
With the win, the Celtics improve to 20-13, while the 76ers drop to 22-13.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Al Horford
KYRIE GOES CRAZY
Irving didn’t waste any time putting his stamp on this one. The star point guard erupted for 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting to help the Celtics grab a 32-25 after one quarter of play. Irving also conveyed his high energy on the glass, grabbing five first-quarter rebounds.
Irving’s outburst came of great benefit to the Celtics, who collectively weren’t overly strong in the opening frame. Boston, outside of Irving, shot 40 percent from the field and went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. The 76ers, too, were powered by their premier player, as Embiid led the way with 11 points while JJ Redick notched 10.
THREE’S COMPANY
While it was a virtual solo effort in the first quarter, Irving received some assistance in the second. Morris led all scorers with nine second-quarter points while Tatum pitched in six as Boston took a 57-51 lead into the break. Irving, Morris and Tatum were the only ones who really had it going for the Celtics early on, as the trio combined to score 84 percent of Boston’s first-half points.
But while the C’s featured very little secondary scoring, the 76ers quite literally received none as the visitors’ bench was held scoreless through two quarters. Embiid and Redick combined for 34 first-half points, while the three other Philly starters only managed to score a combined 17.
SIXERS SURGE
The 76ers answered the bell right out of the gate in the third quarter, going on a quick 8-2 run and forcing the Celtics to take a timeout. Boston responded well, stretching its lead to 10 in the ensuing minutes after the timeout behind five points from Morris and three apiece from Smart and Tatum during that span. The rest of the quarter largely was all Sixers, however, as they outscored the C’s 26-13 in the final seven minutes of the frame to take an 89-86 lead into the fourth.
Jimmy Butler finally got himself into a groove with 13 third-quarter points, while Embiid continued his strong game with 11. Irving, on the other hand, came back down to Earth with just three points in the third.
FOUR QUARTERS, NOT ENOUGH
Philadelphia built on its strong third quarter and grabbed its largest lead of the game at 98-91 just under four minutes into the fourth. The advantage wouldn’t last very long, though, as the Celtics chipped away and eventually knotted things up with a Tatum 3-pointer with 5:26 to play and retook the lead courtesy of a Tatum free throw 33 seconds later.
Both sides struggled to find offense following Tatum’s go-ahead basket from the charity stripe, as only two combined field goals were made in the ensuing four-plus minutes. Wilson Chandler curbed the trend with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to put the Sixers up 108-106, but Irving answered 17 seconds later with a game-tying fadeaway jumper.
The 76ers had a chance to steal a road win in regulation, but Redick’s last-second attempt rimmed out to send the game to overtime.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
The Sixers were the early aggressors in overtime, opening the sudden-death period with a quick 5-0 run. But it didn’t take the Celtics long to flip the script, as Tatum and Gordon Hayward both provided buckets before Irving drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Celtics a 118-114 lead with 1:29 to go. Boston kept Philadelphia off the scoreboard the rest of the way and knocked down three free throws to preserve the win.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Ice. In. His. Veins.
UP NEXT
The Celtics kick off a three-game Western Conference road trip Thursday night with a matchup against the Houston Rockets. Tip-off from Toyota Center is set for 8 p.m. ET.
