Celtics

“I thought everybody stepped up.”

The Celtics claimed a 125-119 victory over the 76ers on Friday, holding off a challenge by the Magic to maintain their status as the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference.

Here are the takeaways.

1. The Celtics have certainly put together more impressive (and more composed) wins than their victory on Friday. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but thanks to a 26-point evening by Patrick Beverley (who was one missed free throw away from recording his career high in points) as well as other contributions across the board, the Sixers stayed even with the Celtics and even led midway through the fourth quarter despite the talent disparity.

The Celtics, meanwhile, turned the ball over 20 times and gave up 15 offensive rebounds. Jayson Tatum was ejected with a second remaining in the third quarter (much more on this in a minute) and managed to turn the ball over seven times by himself before that point. The Celtics gave up back-to-back 36-point quarters in the first half, which Joe Mazzulla called “completely unacceptable,” noting “our lack of detail on tendencies, and just the fundamentals of our defense.”

“These are difficult games,” Derrick White said. “I feel like when guys are out, especially like the top two guys, you get the majority of the plays called and the ball to them, most of the game, everybody just feels like they’re back in college or something.”

So no, the Celtics probably won’t include film of Friday’s win along with their annual Christmas cards. Still, every one of the more impressive wins this season counted the same in the standings and, notably, Friday’s game counted the same in the head-to-head matchups between these two teams at the end of the season. The Celtics now hold a 2-1 lead over the Sixers in the season series and can clinch any necessary tiebreakers with another win.

Not impressive, but still a productive night.

2. Tatum’s ejection felt like it was brewing all evening. He picked up his first technical in the first half after the Sixers (cleanly, it appeared) stripped the ball out of his hands. He picked up his second after he accidentally hit Robert Covington in the face and whistled (rightly) for an offensive foul. Tatum had words for the officiating group as they went to the monitor, and he appeared to say (or do) something that sparked a quick tech just before the third quarter ended.

“Jayson continued to complain and was asked multiple times to head to his bench,” crew chief Bill Kennedy said afterward in a pool report. “He continued to complain about the foul called on the floor and overtly gestures toward the officials and was assessed a second technical foul.”

After the game, Tatum didn’t divulge what he said.

“They was ready,” Tatum said. “It was like, they was ready to throw me out. One of the magic words? Did I cuss? No I didn’t. I didn’t have to say a cuss word. If you watch the clips you probably can read my lips. No hand gestures.”

Tatum added that he and Kennedy had a conversation and the other officials stepped in to throw him out.

“For those two to throw me out the game, I was shocked,” Tatum said. “And it’s like, you always say, ‘Get your money’s worth’ when you get fined for these techs, and I definitely did not get my money’s worth for getting thrown out the game tonight.”

Mazzulla said he didn’t see (or hear) what happened, but he had no problem with Tatum getting fired up.

“I actually like some of that,” Mazzulla said. “I think some of that is important. Obviously, you don’t want it to where it gets in the way of winning, but that type of passion and caring about it, I err on the side of ‘I’d rather see that and then nothing at all.’ Sometimes pick and choose your spots, but I’m not going to say anything to him.”

Also, Tatum would like the record to be clear.

“I wasn’t that [expletive] mad,” Tatum said. “Don’t put that narrative out there. I didn’t throw nothing. I said what I said. There was no magic words, didn’t cuss. Assistant coach was right there, he heard me. I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t want me to play tonight, they were eager to get me out of there.

“I walked back calmly, I sat in my chair, got some ice. I was not mad, I didn’t throw anything. It was like a joke. I had to laugh it off. So no, I didn’t cry, I didn’t throw anything. I got my ice and watched the rest of the game, watched us win.”

3. Tatum’s initial offensive foul, incidentally, was upgraded to a flagrant one, which meant the Sixers got three shots (one for the tech, two for the foul) and the ball. His teammates may have bailed him out a bit by coming up with the win.

“I thought everybody stepped up,” Mazzulla said. “And that’s just kind of the team that we have, and credit to them. I thought they did a great job executing on both ends of the floor. “

4. Al Horford continues to look rejuvenated. The 37-year-old scored 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting and blocked two shots (on the same play) in 33 highly productive minutes.

It’s hard to overstate how good Horford has been with Porzingis sidelined. Asked about Porzingis’s status prior to the game, Mazzulla didn’t commit to a Monday return for the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament against the Pacers and said Porzingis didn’t practice with the team Thursday, but he did get on the floor prior and Mazzulla said he “feels better than he did before.”

5. The Celtics were +20 with Derrick White on the floor in a game they won by six. He finished with 21 points (3-for-4 from 3-point range) in addition to six rebounds, five assists, a block, and a steal.

6. After his best stretch of games of the season, Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points but needed 8-for-20 shooting to get there and was relatively cold deep into the second half.

Still, Brown did finish with four steals and two blocks. He and White combined to score 17 points off Sixers turnovers.

7. Neemias Queta’s game is far from perfect, but he works like crazy on the glass. In just 10 minutes on Friday, Queta grabbed five rebounds and went to the free-throw line four times. Throwing your body around in pursuit of rebounds sometimes comes with easy attempts (Queta made three of them).

8. The Celtics are finally ready to admit they are excited about the In-Season Tournament.

“It’s a little different and something that’s never done before,” White said. “Especially this quarterfinal, I think everyone’s looking forward to it and we’re trying to go out to Indiana, get a tough road win and hope to go to Vegas. Now that it’s here, I think everybody’s looking forward to it and excited about it.”

Monday’s game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. 

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