The Philadelphia 76ers still have a steep hill ahead of them after their injury-plagued, dysfunctional and downright disastrous start to the season.

But Philly looked Wednesday like the team it hoped to be after its all-in offseason: a legitimate Eastern Conference challenger against the defending champion Celtics.

Boston, meanwhile, is feeling the pain of its first two-game losing streak since April.

The Celtics lost 118-114 to the Sixers at TD Garden on Christmas Day after a late-game surge failed. It was the second straight loss and fourth in seven games for Joe Mazzulla’s team, which fell to 22-8.

“Listen, we’re playing inconsistent basketball,” Mazulla said. “We have to be better on both ends of the field. I need to be more consistent on both ends of the court.”

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 32 points on 11 of 20 shooting and 15 rebounds after missing Monday’s loss in Orlando due to illness. Jaylen Brown overcame an ugly first half to finish with 23 points, and Derrick White (17 points) and Al Horford (21 points) went a combined 10 of 20 from 3-point range in an improved outside shooting night for the Celtics.

Kristaps Porzingis played 13 minutes before leaving the game with an injury – the third he has suffered since returning from offseason leg surgery on Nov. 25. The Celtics called it “left ankle sore,” and Porzingis didn’t come out of the locker room after halftime.

The 76ers featured an excellent all-around performance from point guard Tyrese Maxey (33 points, 12 assists, three steals, one block) and excellent 3-point shooting from Joel Embiid (4-for-5) and Caleb Martin (7-for ). -9), both of which significantly exceeded their season average. After starting the season 3-14, the Sixers have won eight of their last 11 games to get back into contention.

“Last game I thought it was one of our great defensive performances,” Mazzulla said of the Celtics’ 108-104 loss to the Magic two nights earlier. “Today there were inconsistencies in our defense. … But we definitely have to be better on both ends of the floor.”

Horford, who started in place of the injured Jrue Holiday (shoulder), made two three-pointers in the first two minutes, including one as the shot clock expired. Porzingis added two goals of his own and started strong from beyond the arc after an 0-4 performance on Monday.

The two big men provided all of Boston’s scoring in the first half of the first quarter. No other Celtic took the field until White sank three corner kicks more than seven minutes into the game and Horford, Porzingis and backup center Luke Kornet combined to score 17 of the team’s 25 first-quarter points.

It was a disjointed quarter for Boston that featured some of the same ball security issues that plagued them against the Magic. Tatum and Brown combined for nearly as many turnovers (four) as points (five) in the frame. The Celtics signed five as a team against Philly’s one and had a hard time containing Maxey, who had 12 points in the first game.

Philadelphia led 30-25 at the end of one quarter, then more than extended its lead in the second quarter, building a 16-point lead, the largest of any TD Garden visitor this season. Guerschon Yabusele — a 2016 Celtics draft pick who earned his way back to the NBA with standout performances for France at the 2024 Summer Olympics — scored eight straight points for the Sixers, who also got eight points from Martin in the second period , a nemesis of the Celtics during his time with the Miami Heat.

Yabusele’s 12 points in the game matched Boston’s entire bench, with top reserves Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser going a combined 1-10 from the floor and 0-9 from three.

Martin tied a career high with seven three-pointers made against a Celtics defense that prioritized Philly’s other shooters. Before Wednesday, he had made just 18 three-pointers all season.

“He’s playing against Boston,” Embiid said, referencing Martin’s previous playoff win against the Celtics. “He hates her as much as I do.”

Tatum began to assert himself late in the second half, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers for 16 points in the first half. He also made a clever play, throwing the ball away from a Sixers player while caught in a trap in the halfcourt, and set up a Pritchard three later in the same possession. The Celtics reduced their deficit from 16 points to six before halftime.

Embiid, who had a major injury scare before the game when he fell out of bounds during warmups, was unusually effective as a perimeter shooter. The Sixers’ embattled center averaged less than one three-pointer per game but went 3-for-4 from deep in the first half. He and Maxey each scored 18 first-half points for Philadelphia.

Brown was terrible in the first two quarters (1 of 8, two points, four turnovers) but broke through after halftime. He scored on two of Boston’s first three possessions of the third quarter, and a subsequent three-pointer by Tatum cut the Sixers’ lead to one, 66-65.

Four minutes later, Brown hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 74-74. Another goal from Tatum with 4:03 left in the third quarter gave the Celtics their first lead since the start of the first quarter. Brown scored 14 points in the frame, with he and Tatum making all but one of Boston’s field goals.

With the game tied at 82 early in the fourth, the Sixers once again threatened to overwhelm the Celtics, ripping off a 21-6 run that included Martin’s fourth, fifth and sixth three-pointers of the night. With just over five minutes left, Philadelphia led by 15.

But the Celtics weren’t done yet. After White and Martin traded 3-pointers, Boston scored 11 straight points. Tatum, White and Horford all scored during that surge, and the Celtics forced turnovers on three consecutive 76ers possessions — two Brown steals and a backcourt violation on Maxey.

The two steals were the first recorded by Boston in the game. The second period resulted in a dunk by Horford that cut the Sixers’ lead to 108-105 with 2:27 to play. The Celtics outscored the 76ers by 22 points with Horford on the floor, the best mark of any player on either team.

However, Boston was unable to complete the comeback.

Back-to-back misses from Horford and Pritchard allowed Philly to rebuild its seven-point lead. With a steal and two throws from Tatum, a Horford block and a Brown layup, the Celtics got back to three points and then made it a two-point game after Brown hit two free throws from Paul George with a 3-pointer 4.2 followed seconds remaining. Boston immediately fouled Embiid, who looked visibly tied up at times in the second half, and he did both to put the game on ice.

The Celtics will look to bounce back when they host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

“It’s still a long season. Nobody panics,” Tatum said. “We have to navigate the emotional roller coaster of the NBA season. It feels much worse than it actually is. We don’t panic or anything. We just have to man up, look in the mirror and figure out some things we need to do better.

“Everyone is at their best and we have always responded really well and I have no doubt we will. So I don’t panic. But we have to get better, and we will.”

Originally published: December 25, 2024 at 7:38 pm EST