BOSTON — Already down three of their starters to begin the game, the Celtics were thrown another wrench at halftime.
Jaylen Brown collided with an errant elbow from Jayson Tatum, and was knocked out of the game, a brutal blow against Joel Embiid and the surging 76ers.
But these Celtics seem focused on heading into the All-Star break on a high note. Not even losing nearly their entire starting lineup deterred them.
As shorthanded as they’ve been all season, the Celtics survived. Tatum only scored 12 points, but on the eve of the trade deadline, Boston’s depth showed itself again as one of the biggest reasons why they’re firmly atop the Eastern Conference. Behind their hottest shooting night of the season, the Celtics held off the Sixers with a 106-99 victory at TD Garden.
The Celtics shot 54.3% from 3-point range, their best mark of the season to fuel this win. Blake Griffin made five triples, Sam Hauser and Grant Williams each hit four. Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White both scored 19 points, and that was even more important in the face of absences and a slow night from Tatum, who shot 5-for-15 from the floor, dished out nine assists and was mostly a non-factor in the fourth quarter.
Brown was knocked out of the game with 1:27 left in the first half, when he and Tatum went up simultaneously for an offensive rebound on the baseline. Tatum inadvertently elbowed Brown in the face, sending Brown to the floor for several moments before he got up immediately headed straight to the locker room holding his face, Brown was ruled out at halftime with a facial contusion.
But that didn’t stop the Celtics.
After the undermanned Celtics led at halftime, the Sixers fought back to tie the game at 64 on Harden’s layup. But the C’s responded with continued hot shooting from their unlikely source. Griffin knocked down two more 3-pointers wrapped around a Tatum dunk to complete an 8-0 C’s run.
The Celtics stayed in front behind their hot shooting. The Sixers cut it to one on Embiid’s layup with 1:21 left in the period but the C’s regained their cushion with triples from Hauser and White to give them a seven-point lead entering the fourth.
Then, without Tatum, the Celtics’ second unit continued to survive. They led by seven with 8:30 remaining when White ignited a huge sequence, chasing down Tobias Harris for an absurd block before Hauser drained a corner 3 the other way to give the C’s a 10-point lead. They led by 11 after Brogdon’s three-point play before getting sloppy on offense. Tatum missed a pair of 3s and Brogdon committed a turnover, opening the door for a Sixers run. They cut it to three when Harden made one of two free throws after a questionable foul call on Brogdon.
But the C’s had answers. With a half-second remaining on the shot clock, White found Luke Kornet for an alley-oop and White hit a 3-pointer to restore the lead to six with 2:09 to go.
