Joel Embiid drops 42 as Celts fall in Philadelphia, 117-109

The Celtics were back at full offensive capability Wednesday night — at least as full as you can be without Jayson Tatum — and still it wasn’t enough.

The ferocious power of Joel Embiid was simply too much in the Celtics’ 117-109 loss to Philadelphia, with the Sixers center powering his way to 42 points, including 17-for-21 free throw shooting.

Embiid’s attack was enough to overcome the work of Jaylen Brown (26 points), Marcus Smart (25) and, in his second game of the season, Kemba Walker (19).

Embiid hit two free throws for a 104-103 lead with 5:23 left, and went back to the line a minute later, this time hitting the second of two for a two-point Philly lead.

Danny Green goaltended Smart, tying the game at 105-105, but hit from the corner for a three-point Philly lead down the other end. Embiid got the better of a tangle with Theis with 3:28 left, hitting his 17th free throw of the night for a 109-105 lead.

A Smart steal led to Walker’s lob to Theis, cutting the Philly lead to two points, and two empty possessions later Tobias Harris posted up Brown for a four-point lead.

Theis answered with a put-back, but Shake Milton went to the line with 1:23 left after Danny Green saved a possession with an offensive board. Milton hit twice for a 113-109 lead. Ben Simmons stripped Theis after the latter grabbed an offensive board.

Harris, brushed by Theis, hit twice with 49 seconds left for a 115-109 lead.

Brown had 24 points and Walker and Smart 19 points each after three quarters, with the Celtics clinging to a 92-86 lead. Embiid was applying extreme pressure in the paint, with 13-for-15 free throw shooting accounting for almost a third of his 36 points.

Walker checked in for the last minute of the third, and was in position, his minutes restriction considered, to play the full fourth.

Philly started to chip away, including a Dwight Howard dunk that cut the Celtics lead to 97-95, followed by two Shake Milton free throws with 8:58 left for a 97-97 tie.

Smart took the lead back with a wild drive off the glass. But Harris converted a three-point play at the expense of Theis for a one-point Philly lead.

Smart drove again, this time with a lefty drive for the lead, and Brown’s floater boosted the edge to 103-100.

Several combined blanks later Embiid hit a tough fadeaway over Tristan Thompson, and then with 5:23 left the Sixers center went to the line yet again to hit twice for a 104-103 Philly lead.

Despite a 17-point first half from Walker that included 5-for-6 3-point shooting, the Celtics barely held onto a 61-58 lead, mainly because Philadelphia made them pay in the paint.

Embiid alone had 23 points, including 10-for-10 free throw shooting as the Celtics fell quickly into the penalty in the second quarter. Embiid was back at it at the start of the third, with Tristan Thompson upset enough with the referees that he picked up a technical foul.

Brown broke a 70-70 tie with 7:18 left in the quarter with a 2-for-3 trip to the line, coming back four minutes later to dunk for a 79-75 lead, and then a 15-footer for an 81-79 edge.

Brown continued his attack, with the help of Smart, and had 24 points by the end of the third, to go along with another 19 from Smart.

Walker, who hadn’t played since the first half, was sent back in with 1:04 left, and the Celtics leading, 90-86. He immediately threw the ball away trying to hit Green on the baseline, but following a Simmons offensive foul Walker drove for a 92-86 lead.

Simmons charged again for his fifth foul, this time with Semi Ojeleye drawing the charge, and the Celtics carried a 92-86 lead into the fourth.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3bXlEBv