The Sixers were outplayed during the second half of Wednesday’s night’s 101-90 loss to the Boston Celtics in their return to the Wells Fargo Center.
The defeat kept the Sixers winless through 11 games, while the Celtics improved to 4-6.
Turning point
Henry Sims knocked down a jumper to cut the Celtics’ lead to five points with 6:20 remaining.
It took Boston less than 30 seconds to go back up seven when Jared Sullinger made a jump shot of his own. Sullinger followed that up with a bucket in the paint for two more of his 11 fourth-quarter points before Brandon Bass hit a shot to push the Celtics’ advantage to double digits.
Follow the leader
Bass came off Boston's bench to lead all scorers with 23 points.
Rajon Rondo had nine points, 13 assists, five rebounds and six turnovers.
NBA
Nerlens Noel returned to the starting lineup and was active. He scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He also picked up two steals, three assists and one blocked shot.
Michael Carter-Williams made his first start of the season. He finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Stat-egic
The Celtics came into the game averaging the third-most fastbreak points with 16.4 a game. The Sixers entered the game tied with the Lakers for allowing the most fastbreak points at 17.0 a night.
Boston routinely feasted on the Sixers’ lackluster transition defense, outscoring the Sixers 24-18 in fastbreak points.
Take a bow
Tony Wroten led the Sixers in scoring in his first game as a reserve. He was 7 for 19 from the floor for 21 points. He also dished out seven assists.
What's next?
The Sixers host the Phoenix Suns on Friday. It will be the fourth of a six-game East Coast swing for the Suns.
Former Sixer Jeff Hornacek is the Suns’ head coach and won 48 games in 2013-14 during his first season at the helm.
Goran Dragic leads the Suns in scoring with 15.6 points per game. Philadelphia native Markieff Morris averages 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.