Philly Sports Jabronis
By Max Rappaport, Sixers.com
BOSTON –– With Michael Carter-Williams sidelined due to soreness in his right foot, the Sixers were left with college combo forward-turned combo guard JaKarr Sampson and newly signed rookie Tim Frazier to man the lead guard position. Playing without their leading scorer and assist man, the team struggled to get things going early against the Celtics and despite a late push was unable to notch a road win.
The Sixers trailed by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, but after a 35-20 run over the first 16 minutes of the second half, they were able to make it a one-possession game and trailed 80-77 with 8:14 left. But a late run sealed the Sixers’ fate.
“I think the start set the tone for a disappointing first half,” said head coach Brett Brown. “[Allowing] 60 points in the first half, whether you have Michael [Carter-Williams] or not, that’s not who we are… We revisited [during our halftime meeting] who we are and I thought we reclaimed that to start the third quarter. That’s the nature of this group, we’ve [come back in games] a lot.”
Philadelphia was led by Luc Mbah a Moute, who finished with 18 points (7/14 FG, 3/6 3P), four assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson each added 16, combining to shoot 7-for-13 from beyond the arc. Frazier notched a game-high 11 assists, becoming just the seventh player in NBA history to do that in their debut game.
“The rug is pulled from underneath us [when Carter-Williams can’t play],” said Brown. “But for Tim to drive [down] I-95 from Maine and play 35 minutes in an NBA game, it’s a great story.”
How It Went Down
The Sixers were outscored 29-15 in in the opening frame, converting on just six of their 20 shot attempts; Boston went 11-for-19 from the field in the first. In the second quarter, the Sixers began to find a rhythm offensively, as Philadelphia nearly doubled its production from the opening 12 minutes of the game, shooting 52.9% from the floor en route to 27 points. But the Celtics were able to keep pace, scoring 31 point of their own to take a 60-42 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Sixers quickly whittled away at the 18-point deficit, bringing it down to six at the end of the frame thanks to strong play on both ends of the floor; Philadelphia outscored Boston 27-15 in the third. In the final quarter, the Sixers trimmed the deficit as low as three, but a 19-7 run by the Celtics down the stretch put the game out of reach, as Boston won 107-96 in front of their home crowd.
Inside The Numbers: 40.0%
Over the past four games, the Sixers have shot exactly 40.0% from the floor after shooting a combined 29.8% in the first 47 games of the season.
Next Up
The Sixers have a quick turnaround, as the Sixers host the Charlotte Hornets at 7:30pm (EST) Saturday night.
