BOSTON — Jayson Tatum barreled down the lane for the breakaway one-handed dunk, already giving the Celtics a 14-point first-quarter cushion that would only grow as Thursday’s matchup against the 76ers progressed.
On a night when both teams were severely shorthanded, Tatum’s 35 points and seven rebounds anchored the defending champions’ 123-105 victory at TD Garden to deal the still-reeling Sixers their 14th loss in 16 games.
“He definitely got off to a good start,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said of Tatum, who scored 18 first-quarter points on 8-of-10 shooting. “But I look back at it, and I think the first quarter was really what did us in. I just didn’t think we were moving great, just in general. Just up-the-floor speed, [getting] back in speed, pace on offense, rotations on defense. … That, to me, felt like the biggest thing.”
The Sixers (21-41), who trailed by as many as 30 points in the second half, played their second consecutive game without star point guard Tyrese Maxey, who is nursing back and pinkie finger injuries. Paul George, meanwhile, was sidelined again with groin soreness after acknowledging he was not 100% during Tuesday’s loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Nurse reiterated during his pregame news conference that he has not had discussions “with anybody” about formally shutting down George — who is 34 years old and has battled nagging injuries throughout a disappointing first season in Philly — for the final 20 regular-season games. Last week, the team announced that former MVP Joel Embiid would miss the rest of the season to focus on treating an ongoing knee issue that limited him to 19 games in 2024-25.
The Celtics (45-18), who were playing on the second night of a home back-to-back, were missing All-Star wing Jaylen Brown, standout big man Kristaps Porzingis, and former Sixers Jrue Holiday and Al Horford.
But Boston still boasted their MVP contender in Tatum, who also totaled five rebounds and three steals in the first quarter to propel his team to that early 33-19 lead. And Payton Pritchard, whose 19 points, six assists, and four rebounds spearheaded Boston’s 59 bench points on the night. And Derrick White, who finished with 12 points and six assists despite leaving the game in the first half with a dental injury.
The Sixers, meanwhile, shot 34% during what Kelly Oubre Jr. called a “horrendous” first half. Oubre finished with 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while rookie Justin Edwards added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and four rebounds in his return from a sprained ankle. Lonnie Walker IV scored 17 points on 5-of-10 from deep range off the bench while facing the a Boston team that previously signed him to a training-camp contract, then waived him before the start of the regular season.
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The Celtics’ advantage grew to 63-43 when Pritchard rebounded his own miss and buried a three-pointer with less than two minutes remaining before halftime. The Sixers closed that deficit to 87-77 late in the third, when Edwards and Walker knocked down consecutive three-pointers and Oubre followed with an old-fashioned three-point play. But the Celtics immediately answered with a 20-2 run, capped by three buckets in a row by Neemias Queta early in the final frame.
The Sixers next return home for a Sunday matchup against the Utah Jazz (7:30 p.m., NBCSP), before hitting the road again for two games against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday (7:30 p.m., NBCSP) and Toronto Raptors on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSP).