Big Three and Rondo to carry Boston Celtics to a 103-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers - NBA Recap
On Sunday night, the Boston Celtics played hosts to the Philadelphia 76ers at the TD Garden, Boston, MA. Rajon Rondo dished out a staggering 15 assist and the Big Three of Boston combined together for 47 points on the night as the Celtics crushed the 76ers, 103-79.
The Celtics, who have had an excellent season since the All-star break, continue to excel as they seem to be gearing up for the playoffs, early. They are looking to end the regular season on a strong run, sending out a message to all the other teams in playoff contention from the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Garnett led the way with 20 points, Paul Pierce added 17 points. Avery Bradley also chipped in with 18 points. Brandon Bass, who in the previous game had failed to register a field goal, also had a good night as he shot 8 for 10, ending the night with 18 points, as four of Boston`s starters scored in double digits. Ray Allen in his new role, coming off the bench also contributed 10 points.
Andre Iguodala ended the night with 13 points, Evan Turner contributed 10 points but Philadelphia`s other three starters failed to get more than 8 points. Nikola Vucevic was the leading scorer for the 76ers with 14 point off the bench.
The game was very closely contested in all departments. Boston had 37 rebounds while Philadelphia had 39. Despite crushing the offensive board with 10 as compared to the Boston`s 1, the 76ers were unable to make the most of all these second chance opportunities. Boston on the other hand relied on their distribution of the ball as they dished out 32 assists on the night; Rondo led the way with 15 assists making this his 17th consecutive game with double figure assists.
Both teams got a good start to the game as the difference after the opening 12 minutes was only three points, Philadelphia trailing at 22-25.
In the second quarter, the Sixers completely lost their shooting touch as they only managed a meagre 27.3% in the entire period. On the other hand, the Celtics started the second period on a 20-4 run to gain control over the matchup. Boston made 57.6 percent of their field goals in the first half and took a 14 point advantage into the break, 50-36.
The second half started off with the Celtics looking to put this beyond Philadelphia`s reach. They went on an 11-0 run to start the third period extending their lead to 61-38. This onslaught continued as the lead ballooned to 21 points after three, 84-63.
Philadelphia did try to make a comeback early in the fourth, carving out 7-2 run to cut the lead to 88-72, but a trey from Sasha Pavlovic followed by five consecutive points from Bradley iced the game.
Boston were never troubled for the rest of playing time, giving Philadelphia their 10th loss in 14 games.
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