The last time Al Horford played for the 76ers on March 20, 2019, he missed both of his Thunder fights with Philadelphia during the intense 2020-21 season. Once something akin to a slower Joel Embiid if such a thing was announced, join him for a challenging season in 2019-20 before he can be dealt with.
He now plays in Boston under that contract that Philadelphia originally signed him and has thrived, and Horford’s former and current head coach, Im Odoka, admitted that Philadelphia abused him on the way to a first-round exit against Boston.
The Celtics corrected this early in his life revenge The match, being thrown at the post against Philly Wings like Tobias Harris, with Ben Simmons losing the size of the ocean. Horford fired a pair of early serve hooks, along with catching and draining three pick-and-pops to give an early lead that the Celtics only gave up momentarily during the first and second half.
Jason Tatum and Dennis Schroeder battled those little deficiencies in the second half, bolstering Boston’s attack, while the defense had enough pauses in it to halt a last-second onslaught by 76 players within one second with six seconds remaining. Tatum scored 26 points with 16 rebounds in his career, and managed through another inconsistent shooting night to reach a 9 of 20 by the bell.
Robert Williams III blocked George Niang into the corner and then, to crown the dominant final defensive control, on a night where Boston held Philadelphia with 37.1% of the field.
Williams breaks third with a pair of finishing touches from Marcus Smart and Jason Tatum early in the first quarter, marking a comeback big weakness By scoring the first nine points for Boston alongside Horford. The Celtics’ third-largest squad, Enes Freedom, signed in with a standing ovation in his new uniform and immediately suspended Joel Embiid in the position.
Embiid started 1 of 9 in the first half after initially dominating with 58 points between his first two games after missing nine games while battling a tough case of COVID-19. Odoka even checked it out early on, turning to the way he shook the huge guy, who also grabbed his wrists after being fouled late by Freedom in the second and scored his first points. He finished with 13 points, 18 rebounds and six assists in 3 of 17 shootings.
Horford, who hoped Boston would lean less through this faltering West Coast, stopped Teresa Maxi early and another by Embiid. He stuffed Seth Curry’s drive, saved the ball back in the bounds and got him again third of the three-point streak. Horford even smashed his former teammate and rival in a replay attempt shortly after the break.
Shake helped Melton Philadelphia overcome an early 12-point deficit, starting 5 of 5 in the first quarter of the Philadelphia bench, including three times in 51 seconds towards the end of the first quarter. From there, MA native George Niang blocked Tatum, made it to the free-throw line in a transition round and beat two Celtics defenders with a fake one to get one end. He beat the Boston Key downhill to a float and gave the 76ers a 26-23 lead before fake Tatum flashed in one below to tie the match after his 1 of 6 start.
Freedom spoiled a pair of chances in the basket, and was blocked twice before Harris’ block cleaned him halfway through the second to bring him back. The Celtics took a 44-40 lead after two quarters despite a 6-for-17 start from Jaylene Brown and Tatum, staying on a defensive line to hold the Sixers to 34.8% from the field and 20% from three.
While multiples and good defense support, including Embiid’s double teams on the periphery, prevented an all-out attack on Freedom, Brown grabbed his hamstrings repeatedly, and was slow to close on Harris and Curry early by the pair to third. Embiid made his way back to the free-throw line through Horford and hit three points, while Curry maintained seven points and two assists in the first six minutes tied at 54.
Embiid hit three and led Harris to another end of the lane to build a 61-57 lead from there, Harris inadvertently hitting Josh Richardson behind. Schroeder checked in for Richardson as he carried a towel over his head on his way to the seat, and grabbed three of Brown’s to his right after Horford’s pass to pass from the corner.
Schroeder hit a step back three possessions later. Dodge around the world before leaving for Tatum for two. He then found Smart in a cut after a lengthy dribble to regain a 64-63 lead in third.
Richardson returned with four stitches over his left eye early in the fourth, hitting a mid-range jumper and finding Grant Williams for three in the corner before Tatum restored Boston’s lead, 72-71, with three steps back. Tatum sped Boston’s attack by six of the next eight, while Andre Drummond, Matisse Thiebol and Carey served up the lead late in the quarter with separate buckets competing with each other and Embiid.
Brown regained the lead with a pair of free throws, Embiid tied it at 82 at the free throw line, Tatum provided some breathing room with two long steps back, fell to the ground as Curry raced the other way, turned toward the baseline and climbed out of bounds.
Desperate Danny Green hit a four to get close to a point and Schroeder forced an ill-advised shot against Embiid in the fairway, which he swallowed and called a 76-man timeout to overtake a point before 6.7 seconds left. Horford handed Embiid to Brown after approaching the border, and Horford chased Harris all the way to the right wing, where he threw to Niang, open in the corner, until Williams thrust third and crushed the likely match winner.
The Celtics are now embarking on a five-game road trip, starting Friday in Utah at 9 p.m. ET against the Jazz.