The Boston Celtics secured a 112-101 road exhibition victory in their preseason tilt against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, improving their preseason record to 2-1. Notable absences included All-NBA forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the Celtics and star big man Joel Embiid and disgruntled guard James Harden for the 76ers.
Boston leaned into their bench for the second straight preseason contest, and the second and third unit players stepped up with high-energy, connected play on both ends (at least, for preseason) to secure the win. Payton Pritchard continues to rule the preseason, putting up 17 points for Boston, with Svi Mykhailiuk (15 points, 6 rebounds) and Neemias Queta (10 points, 2 assists) representing the bench mob well with limited run.
Sam Hauser (15 points, 3 assists) also shined on the starting unit, with likely usual starters Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White all scoring exactly 11 points apiece in 17 minutes of game time for all three.
Celtics Lab 221: Separating fact from fiction in Boston's 2023-24 campaign with Jeff Zilgitt https://t.co/5hqfMCxlTI
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 10, 2023
The Celtics are now off until Tuesday, October 17 when they face the New York Knicks at TD Garden for their penultimate tilt of the NBA’s 2023 preseason.
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