Celtics drop another thriller to 76ers on late-game putback

Twenty-one days three matchups three nailbiters After trading one-point victories on each other s home courts the Celtics and ers squared off in their third thriller of the young season Tuesday night in Philadelphia Kelly Oubre Jr beat Jaylen Brown for a go-ahead putback with seconds remaining and Neemias Queta couldn t slam home a last-second heave by Derrick White securing a - win for the Sixers Oubre s game-winner came after rising Celtics reserve Jordan Walsh blanketed All-Star Sixers point guard Tyrese Maxey on three consecutive late-game possessions Maxey fed a pass to Justin Edwards who missed a -pointer and Oubre caught Brown ball-watching to grab the offensive rebound Moments later White threw up a -foot prayer while being blanketed by Andre Drummond Queta left alone in the paint grabbed the ball above the rim with just over a second remaining but failed to convert what would have been a remarkable game-winner Walsh and the Celtics were able to largely contain Maxey points on -for- shooting and standout rookie VJ Edgecombe six points -for- and Philly was playing without its other headliners the injured Joel Embiid and Paul George But big games from backups Drummond points rebounds and Edwards points on -of- including back-to-back-to-back -pointers midway through the fourth quarter coupled with woeful Celtics shooting early in the championship helped the Sixers prevail in the Atlantic Division matchup Brown finished with points six rebounds and five assists White had - - and Anfernee Simons had - - off the bench to pace Boston s offense Payton Pritchard managed a season-low five points on -of- shooting and was lifted in crunch time in favor of Simons who scored of his points in the fourth quarter The loss dropped the Celtics to - on the season They ll look to bounce back Tuesday night when they host the scuffling Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden on the second night of a back-to-back Here were four additional takeaways from Monday s defeat First-half shooting woes The Celtics shot just from the field and from -point range during a scattershot first half And their top scorers were the main culprits Brown went -for- White was -for- Pritchard attempted five shots and missed all of them Simons -for- That quartet also went a collective -for- from deep before halftime with Simons providing the lone make Team-wide the ers outshot the Celtics by nearly percentage points on total first-half field goals to and on first-half threes to That Boston only trailed by at the break - was a testament to its effort in other areas The Celtics attempted first-half free throws owned an - edge in offensive rebounds committed just three turnovers and got more positive contributions from its bench which outscored Boston s starters - over the first two quarters Walsh impresses again The majority of impressive member of that second unit Walsh who again played with the type of relentless resource that s helped him barge his way into Joe Mazzulla s rotation after a string of early-season DNPs The third-year pro tallied a steal and a block in his first three minutes of floor time and he closed out the first half with a driving dunk He also committed an ill-advised foul on Drummond feet from the basket but his aggression in doing so prompted the veteran center to toss the ball at him in retaliation resulting in a technical foul and a free throw for Boston Mazzulla chose to roll with Walsh over starter Josh Minott to begin the second half and Walsh rewarded that trust by grabbing a hustle-play offensive rebound on the opening possession of the third quarter Later in the same shift he blocked Oubre in the lane scored on a transition dunk and hit a three His late-game defense against the ever-dangerous Maxey who dropped on the Celtics on opening night put Boston in a position to win in the final minute Walsh s final line minutes eight points seven rebounds one assist two steals two blocks Minott did not see the floor in the second half Stars come alive in third The Celtics two majority of established players ultimately shook their shooting slumps during a dominant third quarter for Boston Brown held to seven points in the first half exploded for third-quarter points on -of- shooting White whose shooting has been uncharacteristically erratic since the season began attempted six field goals in the frame and made five of them including three of his four -pointers Fueled by that duo s late-arriving offense the Celtics outscored the Sixers - in the third shooting from the field and -for- from deep They made more field goals than they did in the entire first half overrunning a Philadelphia organization that ranks last in the NBA in third-quarter point differential this season Boston took a - lead into the fourth after Quentin Grimes beat the buzzer with a -foot heave Gonzalez injured Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez exited toward the locker room midway through the third quarter after spraining his ankle The gang initially listed him as questionable to return then declared he was available but he did not re-enter the meeting The -year-old tallied five points two rebounds and one steal in six minutes his shortest outing since Oct