Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and dished out 11 assists as the Boston Celtics came back from a 26-point, second-half deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-110 on Sunday.
Boston outscored Philadelphia 54-20 in the last 15 minutes, taking control of a game that the 76ers had dominated early. This win helped the Celtics get revenge for a home loss to the Sixers on Christmas and improved their record to 2-0 on their road trip, which ends with a game against the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Jaylen Brown contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists for Boston, while Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks. The Celtics hit 21 3-pointers, including 14 of 22 in the second half.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 34 points, and Guerschon Yabusele scored 21 points against his former team. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who were missing Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (finger).
Maxey made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, helping Philadelphia take a 29-21 lead.
The Sixers pushed their lead to 43-28 on Maxey’s 3-pointer midway through the second, but Boston cut it to seven points before Philadelphia went into halftime with a 61-44 lead.
Philadelphia maintained a lead of at least 14 points throughout the third quarter, even leading by 26 after Ricky Council IV’s layup made it 90-64 with under three minutes left. However, Boston ended the quarter with a 16-4 run. Derrick White started the surge with two 3-pointers, followed by long-range shots from Sam Hauser and Tatum. Brown’s layup in the final seconds cut the gap to 94-80.
Hauser hit two more 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, and Tatum added three in just 2 1/2 minutes, putting the Celtics up 101-100. White hit two more 3-pointers in the final five minutes, both after the Sixers got within one point. A 3-pointer from Holiday with 51.6 seconds left sealed the win for Boston.
