Sixers second half woes continue in London loss to Celtcs

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Sixers started out hot in London, but a huge second-half from the Celtics gave Boston their third win over the Sixers this season by a score of 114-103.

The Sixers jumped out an early 7-0 lead thanks to J.J. Redick contributing five early points. 

The Sixers controlled the action for much of the first quarter with Kyrie Irving starting out cold from the floor. 

The Sixers led 28-23 after the first quarter thanks to Ben Simmons and Redick combining for 21 points in the quarter. 

 

The five point lead ballooned to 22 points as the Sixers were all over the Celtics in the second quarter, but the honeymoon did not last as Kyrie Irving bounced back from a 1-7 spell from the floor to poor in 11 points and cute the Sixers lead to nine by halftime.

The Sixers led 57-48 at halftime.

J.J. Redick led all scorers with 18 points in the first half and Ben Simmons added 12 to go with two rebounds and three assists. As a team the Sixers shot 56.1% from the floor and 58.3% from three

Although the rest of the team was hot Joel Embiid was ice cold from the floor shooting 2-of-7 in the opening half. 

Jaylen Brown paced the Celtics with 14 points.

Jayson Tatum opened the second half with a three, and from there he dominated the third quarter, dropping 11 points after having just two in the entire first half. 

Kyrie Irving picked up where he left off at the end of the second quarter in the second half hitting two threes in the third quarter. 

Daniel Theis gave the Celtics their first lead of the night when he barreled down the lane and Al Horford found him for a monter jam. 

The Sixers managed to keep it close in the third and trailed 85-79 after three. It could have been 85-81 had T.J. McConnell and Joel Embiid showed better situational awareness. With the clock nearly expired in the quarter McConnell opted to pass the ball out of the paint while on the fast break. Even worse, Embiid opted to dunk rather than shoot and failed to get the ball out of his hand before the buzzer sounded. 

The Celtics would continue to embarrass the Sixers in the second half by stretching the lead to 19 points. Brett Brown emptied the Sixers bench with about three minutes left in the game. 

The Sixers did not ever build any momentum in the second half and squandered a phenomenal first half the East-leading Celtics. 

J.J. Redick led the Sixers with 22 points. It was his fourth straight game with 20 or more points. He was joined in double figures by Ben Simmons (16), Joel Embiid (15), and Dario Saric (14). 

Jayson Tatum led the charge in the second half for the Celtics with a 14-point half and finished with 16 points. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 21 points. Kyrie Irving added 20 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Al Horford had 13 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. 

Philadelphia native Marcus Morris added 19 points off of the bench. 

The Sixers led 49-27 in the second quarter. From there Boston outscored the Sixers 87-54. It was the sixth time in the last 10 games that the Sixers surrendered a lead of 16 points or greater. 

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