Sixers Fall to 0-16 After 84-80 Loss to Celtics

Report From Philadelphia 76ers

Game Recap: Celtics 84, 76ers 80

The scene that played out Wednesday at T.D. Garden was all too familiar. The 76ers (0-16), for a third consecutive road contest, were in control for a majority of the game, again taking a lead into the final three minutes of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, for a team that continues to scrap and fight in search of its first win of the season, the script’s ending remained the same. The Boston Celtics (8-7) closed the night on an 18-3 run, and subsequently handed the Sixers an 84-80 defeat.

With six minutes left in regulation, the Sixers appeared to be in a solid spot, holding an 11-point edge, 77-66. The lead matched their largest of the night. Boston, though, would receive key jumpshots from forwards Jae Crowder and Jared Sullinger, and trimmed the margin to 77-75. Jahlil Okafor then helped the Sixers respond, delivering a timely And-1 three-point play, making it 80-75 with 2:50 to go. Those would be the final points the Sixers scored. Crowder nailed a clutch triple with 38 seconds on the game clock, giving the C’s their first lead since the early stages of the second quarter, and putting them over the top for good.

Okafor topped the Sixers with 19 points. He also posted nine rebounds. Robert Covington, back in the starting line-up, notched 11 points, and set a new career-high with 14 boards. Hollis Thompson provided several important buckets in the fourth quarter. He tallied 15 points for a second straight outing.

Isaiah Thomas paced all players with 30 points. Former Sixer Evan Turner was a presence in the second half, generating 12 of his 16 points after intermission.

Top Moment:

The Sixers were, and have been, looking for someone, anyone to put them in position to cross the finish line late in games. Jahlil Okafor did his best to stem the momentum Boston was building up, as he engaged in a physical confrontation with the Celtics’ Jared Sullinger.

http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/highlights-okafor…

Brett Brown Said – On the Sixers’ effort in their 84-80 defeat to the Boston Celtics:

“I bleed for those guys. They bust their [rears]. They play defense. They care. In my humble opinion, a win is not far away.”

Of Note:

Against Boston, Brett Brown used his seventh different starting line-up of the season, going with the combination of T.J. McConnell, Isaiah Canaan, Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor. One reason for the change was the absence of Nik Stauskas, who was out with a left knee sprain. Perhaps the most important factor in Brown’s decision, though, was his attempt to neutralize one of the Celtics’ greatest strengths: their ability to create turnovers. The C’s entered the evening with NBA-high averages of 19.4 turnovers forced per game, and 22.8 points scored off turnovers per game.

“We need more ball-handlers,” Brown said before tip-off. “We have great respect for how the Celtics guard. They turn people over. We have struggled with that. And I think [Wednesday], to go with that starting line-up will give us more flexibility, and I hope more ball control where we don’t just get jumped, and let the Celtics run out with it.”

At the outset of the game, Brown got the results he was looking for. The Sixers committed only one turnover in the opening quarter (it came with 29.6 seconds left), and just four overall in the entire first half.

The Celtics then ramped up their defense in the second stanza, turning the Sixers over 15 times between the third and fourth quarters. In the final period alone, the Sixers had seven give-aways, including one on each of their last three trips down the floor with the lead.

Nik Stauskas was held out of Wednesday’s game, marking the second time this season an injury kept him from playing. He suffered a left knee sprain in Monday’s match-up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and, according to Brett Brown, might not be cleared for action before the Sixers finish their road trip. Brown explained the value that Stauskas brings to the court.

“We learn quickly in this league it’s about space,” Brown said. “You got to create space, especially for post players. And without another perimeter shooter, you’re going to miss that. They have a chance to crowd more. I don’t have as much of a chance to have as many shooters on the floor as I want. Any time you take a hit like Nik Stauskas with our young team, and Jahlil [Okafor], I think it’s exacerbated and shown a lot more.”

Despite Stauskas not being available, the Sixers got needed three-pointers from Hollis Thompson and Isaiah Canaan early in the fourth quarter. With Okafor facing double-teams, Brown felt the Sixers’ “floor spots were good.” As he put it, the team just missed some shots down the stretch, coming up empty on its last four three-point tries.

In his first appearance back at the home arena of the team that gave him his first NBA gig, Phil Pressey expressed nothing but appreciation for and fondness of the two seasons he spent with the Boston Celtics organization.

“There so many memories here,” Pressey said prior to squaring off against his old club. He credited former Celtics Brandon Bass and Rajon Rondo for taking him under their wings, and still stays in touch regularly with current Boston big man Kelly Olynyk.

As for what life’s like now, playing for the Sixers, an Atlantic Division rival of the C’s?

“It’s just a good opportunity,” said the third-year pro. “We have a lot of young guys. Everybody’s really likable around here. We have a good little thing going on here. I can’t complain at all. I’m just happy to go out there and play the game I love.”

Pressey appeared in 125 games for Boston over the past two seasons after he was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Missouri. He was given extensive playing time Wednesday, manufacturing six points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals in just under 18 minutes.

Pressey got an open look in the lane with two seconds to go, but couldn’t hit what would have been a game-tying 12-foot jumper.

Next Up:

The Sixers will make their lone stop of the season at Toyota Center on Friday night at 8:00 PM EST, taking on a Houston Rockets (5-10) squad that’s in the midst of a tumultuous stretch. Last Tuesday, the team fired Kevin McHale, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer whose winning percentage was nearly 60.0% over 323 games as Houston’s head coach. Despite McHale leading the Rockets to their first Western Conference Finals berth in 18 years this past spring, he was let go after the club lost seven times in their first 11 games this fall. J.B. Bickerstaff, the 36-year old son of longtime NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff, was tapped to replace McHale on an interim basis. He’s gone 1-3. As of Wednesday, James Harden, now in his fourth season with Houston, ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring, accounting for 27.9 points per game. Dwight Howard is averaging 13.8 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. The Rockets returned to action Wednesday, after having been idle since Saturday. They fell at home to the Memphis Grizzlies, 102-93. Harden erupted for 40 points.