By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
The Philadelphia 76ers (25-43) have faced a lot of tough tests in the past couple weeks, and despite losses here and there, the Sixers have done the best they could in these situations. On Sunday, the team faces one of the toughest tests in the Eastern Conference for the final time this season, the Boston Celtics (44-25), who have won three straight games without their star point guard Isaiah Thomas, who will miss his second straight contest with a knee injury.
The Sixers are coming off of their biggest win since 2008, a 42-point victory over the Dallas Mavericks. It is one of the most dominant Sixers performances in recent memory and it took a lot of people by storm, both Sixers fans and around the NBA.
The Sixers have dropped the first three meetings against the Celtics this season, as they will try to take the team that has performed so well recently and try to knock of one of the East's best teams. The Celtics could be the one team to do the unthinkable and knock the Cleveland Cavaliers off their very steep pedestal.
Last Time Out:
The last three matchups between the 76ers and the Celtics have been decided by single-digits. In Game 1 at the Wells Fargo Center, the C's defeated Philly by just one point. In Game 2 at The Garden, the Celtics defeated the Sixers 110-106.
The last time these two divisional rivals squared off, the Celtics came away with a 116-108 victory at The Garden on February 15. The game was tied at halftime, with Boston starting to pull away early into the third quarter. The Sixers went on a run to pull close late in the third into the fourth. Led by Dario Šarić and Nerlens Noel, the Sixers took a 97-96 lead with 7:56 to play in regulation.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, turnovers and missed scoring opportunities allowed the Celtics to claim possession of the ball and extend the lead, which ended up being insurmountable for the Sixers. The Celtics got an eight point win to lead the season series three games to none.
Nerlens Noel had 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Robert Covington had 18 points, nine boards, two assists, three steals, and went four-of-six from the three point line. T.J. McConnell played the point exceptionally well with 12 points, eight assists, and five steals. Finally for the Sixers, Dario Šarić showcased why he deserved to be in the starting lineup the entire time. The Homie went for 20 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes on the floor.
The Celtics got big performances from two individuals in Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart. Thomas had 33 points and went four-of-seven from three. Smart had 21 points, five assists, and eight steals for Boston.
Increased minutes and production for Richaun Holmes:
The biggest question mark for the Sixers for the rest of this current season had to be how the team was going to move forward without Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and even Jahlil Okafor. It's apparent that the team has found it's answer for the now and possibly for the future as well.
Richaun Holmes has been an MVP for the Sixers since Embiid went down for the season with the meniscus injury and Noel was traded to the Mavericks. In Brandon Apter of Sports Talk Philly's article about Holmes and his production compared to Noel and Okafor, he talks about how Holmes stacks up production wise in the last 12 games. With more minutes on the floor than the others, Holmes is still putting up numbers that are blowing people away. Remember, it wasn't too long ago that Richaun Holmes was playing center for the D-League's Delaware 87ers.
Holmes' play in his recent stretch of games and in the clutch have shown that he is a capable backup piece to Embiid and one heck of a spot starter when need be.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: How about a 42-point win over a Western Conference opponent? That's exactly what the Sixers did on Friday night in front of the home fans. The win and the emergence of Justin Anderson against his old squad almost completely overshadowed the return of Nerlens Noel to the City of Brotherly Love. The Mavericks even came into Friday night's game winning five of their previous seven games. Not too shabby, although they barely showed up to play at the Center. Seven Sixers had double-digit points. Anderson had a game-high 19 points, which also tied his high for his career. He also tallied eight rebounds and two assists. Robert Covington had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Richaun Holmes put up 17 points, seven boards, two dimes, and two steals for the Sixers.
Celtics: The Isaiah Thomas-less Celtics barely came out of the Barclays Center alive with a 98-95 win against the Brooklyn Nets. Jae Crowder made sure Boston came away with the win with a 24-point showing. Crowder also paced the team with 12 rebounds. Avery Bradley had 16 points, Al Horford had 14, and Marcus Smart had 12 points. The win was the Celtics' third win in a row.
| Matchup Preview | March 19, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Boston Celtics (44-25, 21-16 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (25-43, 16-19 Home) |
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Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
When: 1 p.m.
Watch: CSN Philly
Listen: 97.5 The Fanatic
