Without stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Sixers come up just short vs. Celtics

BOSTON — The 76ers were Team Depleted on Friday night and didn’t have a chance against the Boston Celtics.

So the thinking goes.

The Celtics were in a dogfight before escaping TD Garden with a 125-119 victory over the Sixers, who were without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Nicolas Batum.

“Well, I think the biggest positive is I thought we outplayed them,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought we outplayed them. We gave ourselves a chance to win. We didn’t get many good bounces there the last two, three minutes of the game.”

Patrick Beverley’s foul shot gave the Sixers a 116-115 lead with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left. However, the Celtics responded with an 8-0 run to take a 123-116 cushion with 18 seconds remaining. Marcus Morris pulled the Sixers within four points with a three-pointer at the 5.6 mark. But that was as close as they would get.

» READ MORE: ‘Playing for the Sixers is everything’: Now with his hometown team, Marcus Morris prepares to take on former squad

The Sixers ended shooting 1-for-3 and committed a costly turnover as Beverley’s free throw. Tobias Harris missed a pair of foul shots with 3.9 seconds left.

“I think we put ourselves in a position to win the basketball game,” Beverley said. “I think we got some offensive rebounds that kind of come up short. We had some good shot at the end. Couldn’t get our hands on the ball. The ball kind of bounced their way.

“We defended it well in the second half because we moved it early really good in the first half. And we were aggressive. I think we did everything it took to kind of win the basketball game. We just couldn’t come up with it.”

And they were able to keep things close because Beverley showed glimpses of when he scored 37.3 points per game as a senior at Chicago’s John Marshall Metropolitan High School. Mo Bamba also reminded us of when he was a McDonald’s All American at Westtown School.

“I don’t think my mindset really changes,” Beverley said of being more aggressive with Embiid, Maxey, and Batum out. “I want to go out there and try to impact the game, impact winning.”

They also got a lift when Celtics all-NBA forward Jayson Tatum, who had 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, was ejected with 2.6 seconds left in the third quarter after arguing a foul call. That play was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 1, and Robert Covington, who was elbowed in the face, made all three foul shots to give the Sixers a 97-95 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Beverley and Bamba were just two of the Sixers who stepped up and nearly pulled off a thrilling upset.

Beverley finished with season highs of 26 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He made 10 of 15 shots. Sixteen of his points came in the first half.

Meanwhile, Bamba had season highs of 11 points and six rebounds in 19:30 off the bench.

De’Anthony Melton finished with 21 points before fouling out with 5:08 to play. Covington had 18 points, five rebounds, and five steals off the bench. Paul Reed had 14 points and four rebounds, while Morris added 13. Tobias Harris had 14 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists but committed four costly turnovers. He also missed his final eight straight field shots, most of them at the rim, in addition to missing the free throws with 3.9 seconds left.

Harris scored 11 of his points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first half. However, had three points on 1-for-9 shooting after intermission. Three of his turnovers came in the second half.

“I definitely thought we were in there to get the win,” Harris said. “A couple mistakes. Turnovers, myself included, so that hurt us. Those are possessions we got to value, got to be better at, I’m speaking on myself in those moments out there so obviously, a learning experience for us, but at the same time, definitely some positives we can take from it.”

Derrick White had 21 points for the Celtics (15-4).

Embiid was not with the team at TD Garden while dealing with an illness. Maxey was scratched from the game 30 minutes before tipoff for the same reason. Batum was scratched at the same time for a hyperextended right index finger.

So it wasn’t surprising that they lost to the NBA’s first-place Celtics without their two best players and Batum, their glue guy. But they kept things competitive and had an opportunity to win.

This was the second consecutive game Embiid has missed with an illness. He also missed their matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 22 with left hip soreness.

» READ MORE: Jay Wright almost left Villanova to become Sixers coach over a decade ago. Here’s why he stayed.

The Sixers (12-7) dropped to 0-3 this season without the reigning MVP. All three opponents — the Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, and Minnesota Timberwolves — built first-quarter leads by shooting the lights out.

The Timberwolves led 37-20 at the conclusion of the first quarter on 60% shooting. The Pelicans took a 39-24 lead into the second quarter on 78.7% shooting. Those teams dominated by attacking the paint.

On Friday, the Celtics did most of their damage from the three-point line. They led 44-36 after one quarter while shooting 70%. They made 8 of 11 three-pointers. However, the Sixers kept it close by pushing tempo, forcing turnovers, and hitting clutch shots.

They opened the second quarter on a 17-8 run to take a 53-52 lead with 7:18 left and took a 72-69 lead into the half.