The Boston Celtics raced to a 59-41 advantage with 11:07 remaining in the third quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. Boston entered the night up 2-1 in the best-of-seven matchup.
Scoreboard
Boston Celtics 59, Philadelphia 76ers 41 – 11:07, 3rd quarter
The Celtics, who finished the regular season 56-26 (26-15 on the road), shot 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc through the first 25 minutes. Philadelphia, 45-37 overall and 23-18 at home, was limited to 34 percent overall and 29 percent from long range.
Top performers
- Joel Embiid paced Philadelphia with 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting and collected five rebounds.
- Peyton Pritchard led Boston with 18 points, hitting seven of 12 attempts.
- Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown added eight points apiece for the Celtics.
- Paul George scored six points and pulled down three boards for the 76ers.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum converted one free throw at 11:33 of the third quarter after Kelly Oubre Jr. was whistled for a shooting foul, pushing the margin to 59-41. Seconds earlier, Paul George blocked Tatum’s driving layup, but Derrick White corralled the defensive rebound to keep possession for the visitors.
Team stats at 11:07, 3rd period
Field goals: BOS 21-49 (43%); PHI 13-38 (34%)
Three-pointers: BOS 11-28 (39%); PHI 4-14 (29%)
Free throws: BOS 6-12 (50%); PHI 11-13 (85%)
Rebounds: BOS 31; PHI 16
Turnovers: BOS 4; PHI 6
The officiating crew consists of Mousa Dagher, Josh Tiven, Ed Malloy and Mark Lindsay. National television coverage is provided by NBC and Peacock.
Boston began the night as a 6.5-point road favorite, with sportsbooks listing the Celtics at –2800 on the money line and assigning a game total of 196.5 points.
Game 4 will be followed by a return to Boston for a potential closeout Game 5 on ESPN if the Celtics maintain their series lead.
Source: ESPN
