Cameroonian Joel Embiid made a double double of 52 points and 13 rebounds to guide the Sixers in a tight victory (103-101) against another of the greats of the East, the Boston Celtics, who suffered the absence of Jaylen Brown and did not have a particularly fine Jayson Tatum.
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Embiid also served 6 assists and put 2 blocksJames Harden also scored a double double with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and a block.
For those of Joe Mazzulla, Derrick White signed an extraordinary performance with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Tatum had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, while Malcolm Brogdom, coming off the bench, added 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Marcus Smart added 17 points, Al Horford 11 (with 8 rebounds and 6 assists) and Grant Williams 10.
A triple from Barba Harden and 9 points from Embiid in the first minutes of the game gave Trust the locals.
The meeting tightened the following minutes with various leadership changesbut Embiid’s forays into the opposite paint adding 18 points, in addition to his 7 rebounds and an assist, in the first quarter left the Sixers ahead at the end of the quarter (28-22).
Smart, from triple, turned the score around two minutes into the second quarter (28-29) and an unstoppable Brogdon with 13 points so far tied at 35 before reaching the halfway point of the segment. A misguided Embiid needed almost 10 minutes of play for most of the quarter to score again, and the Cameroonian center did it by signing two of his effective internees in a few seconds for the double double of 24 points and 10 rebounds before halfway through the game.
For the Sixers, Harden also reacted, with a triple and free throws reached 15 points personal at the break (53-46).
both squads they tightened their defenses early in the second half and struggled to find openings in attack. Embiid reached his 30 points halfway through the third quarter with one of his runs and jumping back (62-57).
While the locals managed to break through towards the hoop with Embiid as a striker and Harden as an assistant, the Bostonians tried more from long distance in the quarter.
The Celtics sought to close their defense, but the Cameroonian from the Sixers continued to find holes and mate with two hands he reached his 50sand thanks to three triples by PJ Tucker in the last minutes, the Philadelphians prevailed over the Bostonians.
