For the third time this season, the Celtics have lost to the 76ers.
And this time, Philly did it without Joel Embiid, who will have surgery on a torn ligament in his left hand Friday.
Philadelphia edged out Boston 109-98 Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, handing Boston it’s first three-game losing streak of the season. The Embiid-less Sixers now own the season series over the Celtics for the first time since the 2013-14 season, which could prove crucial come playoff time.
First time since 2013-14 ? https://t.co/QfNPQF9WSg
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 10, 2020
Nevertheless, the Celtics aren’t giving up hope. Well, Jaylen Brown isn’t, at least.
“For whatever reason, guys are a little too comfortable playing against us,” Brown said, per The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “We’ve got to watch the film, get back in the lab. All is not lost.”
Head coach Brad Stevens is “not as discouraged” with Thursday’s outing as he’s been in recent games, according to The Athletic’s Jay King.
“Clearly we were more locked in and played a lot better than we have before,” Stevens said, per the team. “I thought there were a lot more examples of who we want to be tonight.”
Here are some more notes from Thursday’s Celtics-Sixers game:
— Marcus Smart had quite the night.
Smart’s 24 points are the most he’s scored in any game this season. He posted his last season-high (19) on Oct. 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks, per Celtics Stats.
With his first field goal attempt of the 4th Q, Marcus Smart has scored a season-high 22 points (8-11 FG, 5-6 3-PT) https://t.co/w79LW60IAb
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) January 10, 2020
He also sank his 500th career 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
Marcus Smart's 500th career 3pt FG pic.twitter.com/whdWWjVlqI
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 10, 2020
— Jayson Tatum now has scored in double figures in a career-best 27 games, per Celtics Stats. (His previous career best was 22.)
— Kemba Walker isn’t having the best luck lately.
Nearly 24 hours after being handed the first ejection of his NBA career, Walker sprained his left thumb late in the second quarter Thursday night. Luckily for the Celtics, however, Walker returned to the game, finishing the night with 26 points.
Kemba headed to the locker room after injuring his hand on this play
??????? ?????? (? @MetroByTMobile ) pic.twitter.com/iIzTAYtY30
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 10, 2020
Walker told reporters after the game he simply jammed his finger and doesn’t believe he’ll need additional evaluations.
Stevens is happy it’s not more serious. (And he likely isn’t the only one, either.)
“When he first went down, we were worried about ligaments,” Stevens said, via NBC Sports Boston. “He got X-rayed at halftime, nothing there. … I’m sure he’ll go for more tests and everything else but, right now in a lot of ways it feels like we dodged a bullet.”
"We dodged a bullet" – Coach Stevens talking about what turned out to be a thumb sprain for Kemba pic.twitter.com/4IAvMRDblT
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 10, 2020
— The Celtics have just one day to rest before they welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to TD Garden on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
