76ers Blow 25-Point Lead, Fall To Celtics 118-110

After leading by 25 points late in the third quarter, the Philadelphia 76ers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics 118-110 dropping their second straight game. The Celtics outscored the 76ers 38-16 in the fourth quarter drilling seven threes in the final 12 minutes alone.

Tyrese Maxey had another impressive outing before disappearing late in the game, finishing with 34 points, six assists, and three rebounds. It’s the 14th straight game with 27 points or more for Maxey. Guerschon Yabusele was fantastic again, finishing with 21 points and six rebounds, while Kelly Oubre Jr added 18 points and 13 rebounds.

For Boston, Jayson Tatum took over late and finished with 35 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds. Derrick White drilled five three-pointers finishing with 17 points and nine assists, while Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics got the scoring going in this one with a pair of free throws from Jayson Tatum to open up the scoring, however, Tyrese Maxey got the 76ers going with a long three and was followed up with a three from Ricky Council IV and layups from him and Guerschon Yabusele. Jrue Holiday drilled a long three to tie the game at 10, but Maxey got going for 11 straight points to make it 21-10 76ers.

After not scoring for over two minutes, the Celtics finally knocked shots with Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis drilling threes and Jaylen Brown hitting a mid-range shot. The threes kept falling for Boston as Porzingis drilled another triple but was quickly answered with a three from Justin Edwards. Maxey added another bucket for his 16th point of the first quarter giving the 76ers a 29-21 lead after the first quarter.

Reggie Jackson kicked off the second quarter with a long three, but Al Horford ruined the party with four points. Kyle Lowry knocked down his first three of the game, and after that shot both teams struggled to knock down shots for the next few minutes. That was until Lowry and Maxey decided to nail back-to-back threes to make it a 15-point lead for the 76ers midway through the quarter.

The Celtics began to inch their way back from their deficit with a pair of free throws from Porzingis, a three from Sam Hauser, and a dunk and a three from Tatum. Tatum’s dunk was quickly one-upped and a few possessions later Council drove through the lane for a huge dunk of his own.

RICKY COUNCIL IV THROWS IT DOWN 🔨 pic.twitter.com/NLZGZN4BJZ

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 3, 2025

With just under two minutes until the half, Brown and Yabusele traded buckets, before Kelly Oubre Jr. drilled his first three of the game. Yabusele continued to score in the final seconds of the quarter, hitting a pair of free throws and a two-foot jumper that gave the 76ers a 61-44 lead after the first half.

At the start of the second half, after a pair of free throws from Maxey, Tatum and White made back-to-back twos for the Celtics’ first shots. The 76ers answered right away with two points from Oubre, a long three from Edwards, and a pair of free throws from Maxey, and it was capped off with a dunk from Yabusele. Tatum finally got hot with five straight points forcing the 76ers to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, it was a three-point parade from both teams. It started with one from Yabusele and then back-to-back triples from Brown. Maxey then drilled one of his own and followed that up with a floating layup, and Oubre and Council continued to add onto the 76ers lead with a pair of twos.

Down 26, the Celtics began their comeback. White drilled back-to-back threes, Porzingis knocked down a pair of free throws, and Hauser and Tatum drilled three of their own. Yabusele scored a pair of shots in between the scoring run for Boston, but another bucket, this time from Brown just before the quarter ended made it a 94-80 game heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics remained on fire from the field. Brown kicked off the quarter with a bucket and Hauser drilled back-to-back threes to cut the 76ers lead to 11. Tatum then drilled another three-pointer and Holiday and Brown added twos to make it a four-point game.

Oubre finally got a point on the board for the 76ers, making one of two free throws, however, Tatum continued to stay hot. He knocked down back-to-back threes that gave the Celtics a 101-100 lead and then Luke Kornet was found wide open for a dunk to increase the Celtics lead to three heading into a timeout.

After the timeout, Tatum knocked down another shot, and after four minutes of no buckets, Edwards tipped in a shot for the 76ers. Maxey scored a pair of free throws, but White drilled another three to keep the Celtics in front. Council and Brown traded mid-range buckets and Oubre drilled a long three to make it a one-point game.

With under three minutes to play, White knocked down another three, and Tatum scored another shot to extend the lead to five. As the final minute began to tick down, Holiday drilled a long three to put the nail in the coffin for the 76ers. Missed shots from Maxey and Edwards ran the time out as the 76ers were defeated by Boston 118-110.

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