As usual, Celtics find ways to bury Sixers

The focus on games at this time of year, specifically against potential Eastern Conference playoff opponents, doesn't focus solely on that game, but rather on the bigger picture.

Yes, wins want to be gained against opponents like the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, etcetera, as the season winds down and seeding for the playoffs forms into shape. More, though, gaining advantages against those teams in certain areas and limiting their advantages against you are what form the bigger picture.

The big picture just isn't a good one when it comes to facing the Celtics. It hasn't been for a long time, and it's not now, frankly. They are an organization, not just against the Sixers but against many, that figures out ways to win, whether their roster is full, limited or even somewhat unknown. When you talk about having a culture in sports, the Celtics still have it. And they proved it again with their 114-98 home win against the Sixers on Sunday.

There is a feeling (and it isn't a good one) when the Sixers line up across from the Celtics that Boston will find ways to win. They'll take a charge on a key defensive position. They'll run the most basic of back door plays to get an easy basket. They'll just do what it takes, sometimes in the most annoying of fashions, to win basketball games, year in and year out.

Sunday was another perfect example. With All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum watching from the bench as he recovers from his torn Achilles, Boston did what it does. This time, it was center Neemias Queta depositing a career-high 27 points while pulling down 17 rebounds and blocking three shots during his 27 minutes. It was guard Baylor Scheierman coming up with big baskets and key defensive plays. It was Nik Vučević contributing 11 points and 12 rebounds in his 20 minutes off the bench. It was the Celtics thumping the Sixers on the boards by 68-46, none more damaging than their 19 offensive rebounds that led to numerous game-changing second chance points. It was a defense that held Tyrese Maxey to 12-of-34 shooting and limited the Sixers starter to just 38 percent shooting. It was all those things and then some that dropped the Sixers to 33-27, and upped the Celtics to their 40th win in 60 games.

"it's obviously one of the strengths that they have," coach Nick Nurse told reporters of the Celtics' rebounding. 

"We kind of had it as a key to the game, and it became absolutely the key to the game. I just didn't think we made enough shots on offense, either. I thought we had really good looks and lots of opportunities on offense, and for whatever reason, we just didn't make enough shots, really. I think we would've juiced us up a little bit more if we would have hit some of the open shots we were getting. I was really happy with what we were generating. A lot of those rebounds were long ones. We just couldn't seem to check out or get out of the hole when they were long rebounds to go chase them. It really hurt us."

After opening up a 10-point lead in the first quarter, the Sixers watched the Celtics pound away at the offensive glass in the second and ultimately open a 12-point lead at the half. That grew as high as 16 in the second half, but to their credit, the Sixers battled and even cut the lead to six on a layup by Maxey with 4:14 to go in the game. But Queta scored the next eight points for the Celtics, and the Sixers only managed one more point for the rest of the game.

"The biggest frustrating part was we couldn't come up with defensive rebounds," Maxey told reporters in the visiting locker room. "And then, we got some really good looks, especially myself. I came up wide open with shots that I'll take any day of the week. I kept shooting. I made some, actually, I just missed some in some timely manners. Hit a big one, come back, wide open again at the top of the key for it, miss it, in and out. Missed a floater. Easy shots that I normally make. We'll take that. If we're going to lose that way, I'm fine with that.

"Today was tough because when you're boxing out and they shoot a three, and it's bouncing far and long and bouncing way out there, and he's already on the outside because you're boxing out, so now he can just run it down. Those are tough ones. We've got to come back and grab some of those, or run some of them down. They shoot the three, you box the corners. You know they are crashing and it bounced funny today."

Sometimes those things happen in the game of basketball. But it certainly appears to happen more times than not when the Philadelphia 76ers play the Boston Celtics.

Maxey finished with a game-high 33 points, followed by VJ Edgecombe's 23. It was the first of at least three consecutive games that the Sixers will play without Joel Embiid, as the team announced on Saturday he will be out with a right oblique strain suffered against the Miami Heat on Thursday. The team plays a home back-to-back against San Antonio on Tuesday and Utah Wednesday.