Jaylen Brown scored 32 points as the Boston Celtics slipped past host Philadelphia 109-108 on Friday in an NBA Cup matchup, handing the 76ers their first loss of the season.
Anfernee Simons added 19 points for Boston, while Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each chipped in with 15 points. The Celtics have won three straight games since starting the season 0-3, including a one-point loss to the Sixers in the season opener.
Tyrese Maxey had 26 points and 14 assists to pace Philadelphia. Four other Sixers scored in double figures, including Joel Embiid (20 points) and rookie VJ Edgecombe (17).
Philadelphia trailed by 10 with fewer than three minutes remaining until 3-pointers by Maxey and Edgecombe helped the Sixers get within 108-106 with 51.4 seconds left.
Brown split two free throws and later committed a loose-ball foul, giving the ball back to Philadelphia with the Celtics up 109-108 and 11 ticks showing. Maxey missed a runner but the Sixers caught a break when Josh Minott missed both of the ensuing free throws.
Philadelphia called timeout and advanced the ball, but Quentin Grimes overdribbled, leaving Embiid with nothing but a desperation attempt as time expired.
Brown scored 16 first-quarter points on 7-of-8 shooting as Boston led 38-25 after one period. The Celtics extended their lead to 55-35 on Simons’ 3-pointer midway through the second quarter and led by as many as 24 in the period when Luka Garza’s alley-oop made it 64-40.
However, Philadelphia closed the first half on a 17-4 run to get within 68-57 at the break.
The Sixers’ momentum followed them out of the locker room, as they turned an 11-point halftime deficit into a tie game in just over five minutes. After the Celtics responded, Philadelphia closed within two with 3:32 to play in the third but Simons’ three-point play and Garza’s floater and 3-pointer helped restore a double-digit cushion.
Philadelphia kept fighting and got within 92-87 when Adem Bona tipped in his own miss with about nine minutes left in the game. They faced a six-point deficit with six minutes to play, but Xavier Tillman and Brown each made a 3-pointer to build the lead back to double figures.
