Christmas win in Boston proves the 76ers are finally turning around a disastrous season

On By Littum

BOSTON — As Joel Embiid writhed in pain on the ground, a group of Sixers employees stared in disbelief. The game hadn’t even started yet. It was just a warm-up. But somehow, Embiid managed to trip over the foot of a security guard and twist his ankle less than an hour before the Philadelphia 76ers’ Christmas Day game against the Boston Celtics.

It took Embiid a minute to get up, and eventually he was hobbling around in anger as he finished his warm-ups and stomped into the locker room. Once he became a game-time decision, there was naturally concern that he would miss another crucial game.

“(It) was a bit sore, but it’s Christmas. Must play in the Christmas game.” Embiid said after beating the Celtics 118-114. “Can’t feel bad about yourself. Life is life. It happens. You do whatever it takes to get better and get back on the floor. But it’s hard. But what can you do?”

Embiid wasn’t the only Sixers player facing a challenge coming into the game. Tyrese Maxey was turned on when his phone buzzed with a message from his friend Trendon Watford. The Nets guard told Maxey that he always takes over regular old games, but could he do it on Christmas with his whole family watching?

As Maxey recounted how he “stinked it up” last Christmas, Embiid entered from the next locker. “You were like the worst player in the NBA.” Maxey nodded and said the game had been in the back of his mind for a long time. He can finally let go. Even with Paul George and Embiid out, Maxey stole the show against Boston with 33 points and 12 assists, the second most of his career.

His quickness on the ball had the Celtics defense breathing dust all evening. When they pushed him most of the night, he found a way to play around. The 76ers had just two turnovers heading into crunch time, then were course-corrected when the Celtics’ half-court pressure turned him over two straight plays. They just always had an answer, and the first step to that equation was Maxey.

Even when Boston thought it contained him, his speed won out. Maxey is so fast that he can catch the ball, lose the ball, get the ball back and then get off a shot in one second flat to ice the game.

Maxey said he actually sprained his knee a little on that drive. Even his own body struggles to handle the G-forces.

He was a hound on defense in this game, getting deflections with his attacking defense and even standing up to Kristaps Porziņģis at times. The Celtics simply struggled to get around Maxey and Jayson Tatum couldn’t bully him. Much of what has worked for Boston in the past didn’t hold up against this pit bull version of Maxey.

Philadelphia’s second unit couldn’t have dominated in the fourth quarter without Caleb Martin. He went 7-for-9 from 3 and played good defense — this is the guy the Sixers expected when they signed him in the offseason.

“That’s what Caleb does,” Maxey said. “That’s the undertaker we know.”

The Sixers players kept calling Martin the Undertaker after the game, perhaps because this seemed like a revival of a sluggish start to his 76ers career. But shooting near perfect from deep was some unwelcome deja vu for the Celtics. Martin has a habit of taking fire against Boston, who famously buried the Celtics early in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.

“He hates them as much as I do,” Embiid said with a wry smile.

But the first thing he told coach Nick Nurse after the game was that he feels much better physically than he did even two weeks ago. Nurse said that’s why Martin is fighting defensively all night and just looks healthier than he did two weeks ago.

Things are very different for the Sixers in the last few weeks. They are 8-3 in their last 11 games, finally breaking into the play-in portion of the standings.

Their win against San Antonio on Monday was a statement that they could rally to win without Embiid after his ejection. But the win in Boston shows they can go toe-to-toe with an elite team from start to finish without any game-changing events happening. The second unit’s 23-6 run in the fourth quarter provided the cushion needed to survive the Celtics’ crunch time, with just enough moments from the Sixers’ stars to close it out.

“I think we have a high ceiling,” Embiid said. “I don’t think it was close to our best basketball. But we got a pretty good chance, so it’s about hoping for some luck and staying healthy.”

Embiid said a key difference against Boston is that Philadelphia has always lacked wings, a distinct disadvantage against the best pair of wings in the league. Their depth makes the Celtics a bit more manageable and allows the Sixers to chip away during the game.

“You can never have enough (wings),” he said. “But I feel like we have quite a bit now.”

But this win wasn’t just about matching the champions. The Sixers are finally a complete team, healthy (for the most part) and finding their identity. There’s some consistency in rotations, guys figure out their roles and they just know what to do.

“Just play harder,” Embiid said. “We go after the ball. We actually follow the game plan. … It’s always going to be a challenge because 95 percent of the team is brand new.”

That’s why Embiid said the team has a long way to go. The Sixers are still learning how to play with each other. He knows the Maxey-Embiid pick-and-pop game will be their bread and butter to get the team through tough moments, but this is a Sixers team that’s starting to show it can avoid those huge drop-offs , who bury them.

“We’re putting the pieces together. We started to figure it out,” Martin said. “We haven’t had a ton of games where everybody has played. We are still at almost 30 games and trying to get it together. Tonight was a big, big step in the right direction.”

(Photo: Michael Dwyer/Associated Press)