Curry's return, Embiid's dominance drive Sixers to sweep of Celtics

The Sixers are looking scarier by the day.

Just ask the Celtics.

Philadelphia completed a sweep of its 2-game miniseries against Boston on Friday night, winning 122-110 to improve to 11-5 on the season. By the end of the night, they held a 1.5 game advantage over the Indiana Pacers for first place in the Eastern Conference nearing the quarter pole.

And now they have their full starting lineup back together.

Seth Curry returned from a 7-game absence due to COVID-19 protocols only to pick up right where he left off. The 30-year-old guard scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and drained three of his five 3-point attempts. The Sixers were a team-best +18 in his 27 minutes. Tobias Harris finished second in that metric with a +15 fueled by his 23 points on just twelve shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. He also snagged 8 rebounds and dished 3 assists.

Joel Embiid benefited the most by Curry’s return. In just 30 minutes, the 7’ center poured in 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Most telling, he took only two 3-pointers all game, connecting on both, but he eviscerated Boston’s bigs in the post, working his way to the line 15 times where he made 14. In the 2-game set, Embiid took a whopping 36 free throws. If you’re looking for the best example of the Sixers’ improved floor spacing, there it is.

Embiid’s dominance and the strong supporting performances from Curry and Harris allowed Ben Simmons to focus on playmaking and wreaking defensive terror. The 5th year guard racked up 11 assists against only two turnovers, and he added 2 steals and a block. He did turn on the aggression late in the clutch, though—11 of his 15 points came in an explosive 4th quarter.

The balance and chemistry of the Sixers stars helped the team shoot a scintillating 55.6% from the floor. They hit 12 threes at a 42.9% clip. But similar to Wednesday night’s game, Boston refused to simply lay down.

The Celtics were again without Jayson Tatum due to league health and safety protocols, but Jaylen Brown’s ongoing superstar turn rendered that a moot point. The hyperathletic wing was in attack mode all night, attempting 28 shots en route to a career-high tying 42 points. He showcased his ever-expanding offensive arsenal, finishing at the rim and draining pull-ups, catch-and-shoot looks, hooks in the post, and punishing all Sixer defenders thrown his way. The Celtics’ starting backcourt helped Brown carry the load. Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker combined for 39 points and 12 assists.

But that trio was forced to do all of the heavy lifting. Boston rotated eight other players in and out in this one, and they totaled 29 points. None scored in double figures. Tristan Thompson scored 4 points in 26 minutes and had only 5 rebounds. After a shockingly effective and efficient game just two nights prior, Daniel Theis took only three shots and scored 7 points.

Despite those poor contributions from depth pieces, the Celtics got off to a strong start. Brown’s 10 early points and an active defense that forced six turnovers had Boston up by ten before a short jumper by Harris cut the lead to 33-25, which is where things stood after one.

The Celtics kept the Sixers at arm’s length for most of the second frame before a Danny Green 3-pointer courtesy of Simmons tied things up at 49 with less than a minute left. Brown responded with a three of his own on the very next possession giving Boston a 52-49 lead at the break.

A minute into the second half, the Sixers took a 55-54 lead and the two teams seesawed back and forth before the Celtics created some separation at 69-63. A quick 11-0 burst found Philadelphia back in front and by the end of the quarter, its lead had grown 91-80. Most impressively, the bench came up large, as a large portion of that late run involved just Harris with four subs.

The Celtics again responded though. Tight defense and Jaylen Brown’s individual brilliance narrowed the gap to 103-100 with under 5 minutes to go in the game. But that was as close as it got. Simmons took over with help from Embiid. The Sixers star duo supplied 11 points as part of an inspiring 14-2 run that all but shut the door on Boston’s comeback bid.

As thrilling as Philadelphia’s sweep of the Celtics was, they have no time to soak it in. They must instead carry the momentum in Saturday night’s trip to Detroit to face the Pistons at 8 p.m. This will be the first matchup between the two teams this season. It will also be the first game of yet another miniseries, as they will face the Pistons once more on Monday night.

Detroit, in the beginning stages of a rebuild, currently has the NBA’s worst record at 3-12.

One bright spot has been the surprising play of former Sixer Jerami Grant. The 2014 second round pick signed a 3-year, $60 million deal in the offseason, and leads the team with 25.1 points per game with impressive efficiency (58.9% true shooting).