Kelly Oubre Jr. scored off an offensive rebound with 8.7 seconds left, leading the Philadelphia 76ers past the visiting Boston Celtics 102-100 on Tuesday.
Oubre’s decisive bucket came off the only miss of the game by teammate Justin Edwards, who scored a season-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Tyrese Maxey added 21 points and nine assists for Philadelphia, while Quentin Grimes chipped in with 18 points.
Jaylen Brown paced Boston with 24 points, while Derrick White added 18 points and seven assists and Anfernee Simons contributed 17 points. White shot just 7-for-20 from the field, although Maxey (5-for-17) and VJ Edgecombe (2-for-11, six points) struggled on the other end.
The Sixers trailed by eight points with six minutes left before Edwards swished three 3-pointers in less than 90 seconds to put his team up 93-92.
A high-bouncing 3-pointer by Edgecombe put Philadelphia ahead 100-96 with 2:20 left, but Boston rallied to tie it on White’s 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and a free throw by Brown with 33.5 seconds remaining.
After Oubre’s go-ahead bucket, White had the ball knocked away from him by Andre Drummond (14 points, 13 rebounds). White’s heave from near halfcourt missed the rim, and Neemias Queta rushed an unsuccessful tip-in attempt as time expired.
Neither team led by more than five points during a first quarter that ended with Philadelphia ahead 23-22.
The Sixers outscored the Celtics 28-19 in the second quarter, holding the visitors to 28% shooting in the period. Brown scored five points, but none of Boston’s other starters scored in the stanza, and the Celtics went into the locker room down 51-41.
Boston unleashed an 11-0 run early in the third quarter to tilt the scoreboard in its favor. The teams then jockeyed back and forth for a bit before White scored eight points in the final two minutes of the period.
White seemed to have punctuated the Celtics’ strong quarter with a 3-pointer with about three seconds left, but Grimes nailed a half-courter at the buzzer to bring Philadelphia within 77-71.
Early in the fourth quarter, Simons hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to put Boston ahead 85-77, setting up the exciting finish.
–Field Level Media
