The second night of the NBA’s return featured a divisional showdown between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
The two squads have duked it out as rivaled teams especially in recent years, as both organizations started developing into contenders around the 2017 season. The Celtics have had their number as of late. They won 17 of the last 20 regular season matchups heading into tonight and dropped off Philadelphia in five games during the 2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
But after a hectic off-season and a plethora of new faces donning Celtics green, the Sixers had the upper hand Wednesday night. They dominated the third quarter and harnessed that momentum to carry them to a 107-93 victory inside Wells Fargo Center.
Kemba Walker’s highly anticipated debut didn’t go to plan. The three-time All-Star went 4-of-18 from the field, and his plus-minus was a team-worst -16.
Walker’s struggles were on par with the rest of the Celtics. They shot 36.7 percent from the field, 26.9 percent from three-point range, and couldn’t stay out of foul trouble.
The officiating crew blew the whistle on 48 fouls in the first three quarters (63 total), five of which came on Jaylen Brown who was forced to ride the bench for much of the game. Brown recently signed a four-year extension worth $115 million and ended the night with eight points on six shot attempts.
Those fouls translated to a multitude of attempts at the free-throw line. Which is where Boston ultimately shot themselves in the foot.
The Celtics made 20 out of 34 attempts from the charity stripe — 14 misses. Philadelphia won by 14.
One headline heading into the night was former Celtic Al Horford, who signed with the rivaled 76ers this off-season in free agency. He dealt with shooting struggles in his first game as a Sixer but added in 16 points and only one turnover in 31 minutes.
There’s a lot of negatives to take away tonight from Boston’s perspective. But head coach Brad Stevens continued to do what he can to keep spirits high and move on to the next one.
Brad Stevens said he told the Celtics they did a lot of good things.
“I’m a lot more encouraged than discouraged.”
Said the Celtics obviously need to protect the rim better at times and will need to capitalize more offensively to win a game like that.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 24, 2019
Steven’s and the C’s will have a shot at proving him right on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the home opener against the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
