Celtics Get Revenge Against 76ers, Hands Philadelphia First Loss Of Season In NBA Cup Matchup
Oct 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) drives to shoot against Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) in the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
After starting the 2025-26 season on fire, winning their first four games of the year, the Philadelphia 76ers got quite the scare on Halloween during their matchup against the Boston Celtics, losing their first game of the season and first NBA Cup game of the year.
It was an uphill battle for the 76ers, who trailed at one point by 24 in the first half and by 11 with under five to play in the fourth. However, despite that, Philadelphia rallied like they have all season long and cut it to a one-point game in the final seconds, and even had a chance to win the game, but a missed three from Joel Embiid on the final shot was the nail in the coffin as Boston held on to the 109-108 victory.
Typically, the third quarter is when the 76ers fall apart this season, but the first quarter was when Philadelphia looked lost. Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard could not miss to open up the game, scoring 21 of the Celtics’ first 26 points and 24 of their overall points in the first 12 minutes.
While the Celtics couldn’t miss to start the game, the 76ers were doing the opposite. Joel Embiid scored eight straight points to open the game, but Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes all didn’t knock down their first shots on the night until under six minutes to play in the first quarter.
Because of this, the Celtics took advantage and drilled whatever shot the 76ers gave them. Whether it was mid-range, layups, or three-pointers, Boston knocked it down and rose it to a 38-25 lead after one.
The second quarter once again started all Boston, as they dominated the first nine minutes of the quarter. Shot after shot fell for Boston, with multiple coming from three from Anfernee Simons off the bench. The lead grew to 24 for Boston once Brown came back in the game, as the 76ers looked like dead in the water.
However, with just over three minutes to play in the half, the 76ers finally looked like they were ready to play. Led by Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Andre Drummond, Philadelphia started knocking down a few shots and locked up Boston on multiple possessions. As the final seconds ticked down, an Oubre layup closed out a 17-4 76ers run to cut it to an 11-point game.
Out of the half, Philadelphia kept the run going, opening up the third quarter on a 15-4 run to tie the game up at 72. Combining the run to end the first half, the 76ers went on a 32-8 scoring run to get back in the game.
Back to an even game, Brown finally ended his cold streak and regained the lead for the Celtics, thanks to five straight points, and the Celtics rode that to stay ahead by seven heading into the fourth quarter.
With 12 minutes to play and leading 89-82, Boston continued to answer any Philadelphia comeback attempt and even increased their lead back up to 11. With under five minutes left to play, the 76ers started knocking down a few threes, one by Oubre, Grimes, and Maxey to knock the game back into single digits.
Down five with a minute left to play, Edgecombe added his name to the threes list with a huge triple to make it 108-106 Boston.
Brown was fouled on the ensuing Celtics possession and hit one of two free throws, and Maxey hit a layup to get the game down to one point. Boston failed to get the ball back on their end on two inbound attempts, giving the ball back to the 76ers with 15 seconds left.
With a chance to take their lead of the night, Maxey just missed his layup and Boston grabbed the rebound, forcing the 76ers to foul. On the other end, Josh Minott missed both free throws to keep it a one-point game, and the 76ers once again had a chance to win the game, this time with three seconds left. However, the Celtics locked down Philadelphia’s set play, and Embiid was forced to chuck up a long three that missed, letting Boston hold on for the 109-108 win.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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