The Celtics closed their preseason with a 125-120 overtime win over the 76ers in Philadelphia on Friday. They did it with a starting lineup of Exhibit-10 players. CelticsBlog's Noa Dalzell reported before tip-off that Boston would start Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, Tucker DeVries and Gabe McGlothan, along with rookie Chris Cenac Jr. Philadelphia was mostly at full strength: LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Joel Embiid were all available, after sitting when the teams last met.
The box score shows a game that stayed level. It was tied at 115 after four quarters, and Boston won the extra period 10-5. Philadelphia led for 63 percent of the game, with a largest lead of 14, but the Celtics led by as many as 8 and the lead changed hands 16 times. Philadelphia shot 7-of-38 from three (18 percent) against Boston's 17-of-54. The Celtics also had 18 offensive rebounds to the 76ers' 5, and out-rebounded them 63-46.
The Exhibit-10 starters contributed, though the biggest scoring night came off the bench. Hugo Gonzalez scored 21 on 6-of-10 shooting. Ron Harper Jr. had 16 points on 7-of-20 shooting, and his +18 was the best on the Celtics. Uzan had 14 points, and Gray had 7 points, 7 assists and 3 steals in 24 minutes. McGlothan scored 6 but pulled down 13 rebounds, 5 of them offensive. Cenac scored 12 on 6-of-10 shooting and fouled out with six personal fouls in 19 minutes.
Philadelphia's regulars scored but could not close it out. Embiid led all scorers with 27 points, going 11-of-13 at the line in 29 minutes. Tyrese Maxey added 22 points and 6 assists, and Brown had 20 points and 8 rebounds. James played 25 minutes and scored 8 on 4-of-9 shooting, with 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 turnovers. Sportsnet's video highlight shows him throwing down an alley-oop off a Maxey pass in the first quarter. The sources don't say why he played only 25 minutes.
The result extends the Celtics' winning streak to three, and all three wins came by double digits except this one. They beat the 76ers 144-106 on Oct. 10 and Charlotte 114-93 on Wednesday. The 76ers are 1-2 and have lost two straight, including a 114-108 loss at Brooklyn on Oct. 8. CelticsBlog's preview listed the game on NBA-TV, while Liberty Ballers listed NBC Sports Philadelphia. The feeds don't explain the difference.
Both teams play again on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Boston travels to Detroit, and Philadelphia goes to New York.
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