On Friday night, the Boston Celtics hit the hardwood for a preseason game with the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston was able to come away with the eight-point victory thanks to new star guard Kyrie Irving. The latest win kept the Cs perfect in the preseason. Here's the latest report on the Celtics vs. Sixers game including top players, stats, and what's next for these two teams.
NBA game recap
The Boston Celtics held just a one-point led after the first quarter an were up only two points at the half. However, they kept up their pace and then outscored Philadelphia 32-26 in the third.
The two teams each scored 19 points in the fourth as Boston pulled away with the latest victory.
Leading the way for tonight's Boston Celtics win was guard Kyrie Irving. The four-time NBA All-Star shot 7-for-14 including 5-of-7 from downtown to finish with 21 points. Jaylen Brown chipped in 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting while Terry Rozier scored 13 points off the bench. Marcus Smart had 11 while Aaron Baynes provided another 12 points to help out in the victory.
21 PTS for Kyrie Irving in the @celtics' road W! #NBAPreseason pic.twitter.com/Uq0KptjSIN
— NBA (@NBA) October 7, 2017
Jerry Bayless led the way for the Philadelphia 76ers with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Amir Johnson had 12 points and five boards while Jahlil Okafor had 11 points off the bench to go with six rebounds.
Ben Simmons started and scored eight points while also dishing out five assists, grabbing three rebounds, and recording three steals. Unfortunately, rookie Markelle Fultz sat out of the preseason game due to injury.
The Philadelphia 76ers scored 47 percent of their field goals for the night and hit 45.2 percent of their three-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics shot at a rate of just over 40 percent and hit 34.4 percent of their threes. Boston barely own the rebounding battle 49-48 and had 17 turnovers, compared to 24 for the visitors.
What's up next?
With tonight's win, the Boston Celtics are off to a 2-0 start in the preseason. This is a team expected to be up near the top of the Eastern Conference contending with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Next up on their preseason slate is another game against Philadelphia. This one takes place in Boston Monday night at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Philadelphia 76ers drop to 0-2 for their exhibition games so far. The team still has some work to do and hasn't really had their roster at full strength with Fultz and Embiid both out tonight. They'll take on the Boston Celtics on the road on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.