BOX SCORE
There was a battle being played out on the Wells Fargo Center floor Wednesday night. Not between the Sixers and Celtics, but to find out which was more entertaining: The Sixers taking it to Boston from the opening tip or watching Evan Turner play like the person Sixers brass hoped for when drafting him.
Turner was sensational as the Sixers beat the Celtics 103-71 in the first of three meetings. He had a career high in points with 26 and field goals made with 11. His 19 field goal attempts were also a career high and he corralled nine rebounds.
The Sixers triumph pushed their record to 23-17 and snapped the Celtics five-game winning streak.
Even more impressive was the fact the Sixers pounded the Celtics without the services of Thaddeus Young, who was out with an upper respiratory tract infection. With Young out, Nik Vucevic went back to the bench to bolster the reserves and Tony Battie started at the center position.
Turning pointThe first quarter set the tone, but also served as a point to make this game different than the contests against Milwaukee, Chicago and Oklahoma City.
The Sixers outscored the Celtics 33-17 in the first 12 minutes, holding Boston to 36 percent shooting, while shooting nearly 62 percent themselves.
Follow the leaderIn addition to Turners play, Elton Brand contributed 18 points and nine rebounds, while Andre Iguodala supplied 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-high eight assists.
Vucevic had the first double-double of his young career with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He also had the fans on their feet when he drove baseline for a one-handed slam in the fourth quarter.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 16 points, but he played just 26 minutes. Pierce and Brandon Bass (12 points) were the only two Celtics in double-figures.
Stat-egicThe Sixers won the first quarter by 16. They proceeded to add to their lead in each of the three quarters that followed.
Meanwhile, their defense held Ray Allen to a season-low two points in 27 minutes and Kevin Garnett to eight points, only the fifth single-digit scoring output for the "Big Ticket" this season. Garnett played 23 minutes.
Take a bowTurner was brilliant in the first quarter, making his second consecutive start. He scored 10 points in the opening frame, shooting 5 of 9 from the floor and grabbing six rebounds in all 12 minutes.
Turners effort came on the heels of an issue with the media earlier in the day (see story).
Whats next?The Utah Jazz come to town for a Friday date with the Sixers. They are 18-19 on the season with one of those wins coming against the Sixers in their third game of the season. Utah won, 102-99, giving the Sixers one of their 12 losses this season by seven points or fewer.
Al Jefferson leads the Jazz in scoring with 19 per game. However, he was injured and did not play against the Sixers in the first meeting. Derrick Favors started in his place and scored 20 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Jazz are 4-13 on the road this season.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com.