BOSTON — For the second time in a row against the Celtics, the Sixers went down by 20-plus points. But unlike the last game, they never came back to make it close.
The Sixers allowed Boston to score 38 points on 66.7 percent shooting in the first quarter, and the Celtics kept a healthy lead throughout, beating the Sixers on Monday night, 108-89.
It was the fourth and final game of the season series between the two teams, with the Celtics sweeping the Sixers.
The Sixers scored just 34 points in the first half before matching that output in the third quarter alone, but they would not clamp down on defense enough to put a dent in their deficit, still trailing the Celtics by 21 points entering the fourth quarter.
Nerlens Noel led the Sixers in scoring with 18 points. Five Sixers grabbed at least five rebounds on the night with Noel leading the way with seven.
The Celtics shot 50 percent from the field, including 8 for 20 from three-point range. It's Boston's fifth straight win, the first five-game winning streak under head coach Brad Stevens.
NBA
Turning point
There really wasn't a turning point in this game. The jumpball that Boston won? They did take a 7-0 lead after all. We'll go with the beginning of the third quarter: The Sixers scored the half's first six points to trail 57-40. But once Boston woke up on offense about two minutes into the quarter, it kept the Sixers at a far distance, exchanging baskets for much of the quarter. There was never a Sixers threat.
Thompson with the starters
Hollis Thompson got the start for the Sixers, his first since Dec. 19, finishing with 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the field. Of course, he had just as little success defending the Celtics as anybody else, and was substituted out of the game along with Luc Mbah a Moute and Jason Richardson with 4:26 remaining in the first quarter with the Sixers already down 27-11.
Stat-egic
If you've watched the Sixers this season, then it should come as no surprise that they trailed the Celtics 38-18 at the end of the first quarter. This is the worst first-quarter team in the NBA, as they came in to the game dead last in scoring (22.3 points) and dead last in opponent points allowed (26.8). They didn't help themselves in these categories Monday night.
The Celtics didn't commit their first turnover of the game until a Tyler Zeller offensive foul with 5:32 remaining in the second quarter. The Sixers would commit their eighth of the game on the ensuing possession.
Second-half success
Brett Brown gave Ish Smith some burn in the second half, as the five-year veteran — who is playing on his eighth different team — scored all of his 16 points in the second half of the game. He came into the game averaging 10.5 points and 23.8 minutes per game, both by far the best of his career. It's the sixth game this month Smith has scored in double figures.
What’s next?
The Sixers don't have a particularly hard schedule coming up. They head back to Philly for a game against the Pistons on Wednesday, and then stick around until Friday when they'll host the Knicks.
After that, it's a trip out West, where the Lakers, Kings and Nuggets await from Sunday to Wednesday. There are winnable games on this stretch.