The Boston Celtics played their final game of the preseason in Philadelphia Friday night. As was the case in game 1 of the preseason, Boston rested their key starters and vets, handing the bench unit plenty of run against a full-strength Philadelphia 76ers team. The lead flip flopped throughout the second half as both teams traded blows down the stretch, Boston would would get contributions from top to bottom in overtime to grab another preseason win, 125-120. Hugo Gonzalez led the team with 21 points,
all 12 available players scoring for the road team.
Boston came into the game with a perfect 3 wins from 3 games; they started yet another curveball lineup with Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, Tucker DeVries, Gabe McGlothan, and rookie Chris Cenac Jr. Sam Cassell was handed head coaching duties as the Boston bench was filled out by the stay-ready unit of Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Amari Williams, Dillon Mitchell, Ron Harper Jr and Hugo Gonzalez.
Baylor Scheierman has had an excellent preseason, averaging 8 points and 4 assists per game through three games, whilst Hugo Gonzalez has shot the three ball consistently well, coming into the game with 8/13 from downtown.
Jaylen Brown did not play in Boston but was suited up against his former team, just 103 after the blockbuster offseason trade that rocked the NBA landscape and the Eastern Conference. He was joined in the starting five by Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Milos Uzan hit on the first score of the game with a triple just 45 seconds into the contest. Hayden Gray got downhill and drove the ball as Boston took an early 5-2 lead.
Philly hit their first 7 free throws of the contest and took the lead. Boston had 3 early turnovers as things looked sloppy on the road. Gabe McGlothan hit a triple over a scrambling Jaylen Brown and Milos Uzan with the nifty pass into the corner in front of the C’s bench.
Sam Cassell subbed in 5 players at the six-minute mark of the first quarter, Garza, Harper Jr, Scheierman, Walsh and Gonzalez coming into the game. Luka Garza snagged a weak-side rebound over Embiid, dished to Hugo, who Euro stepped into the lane for a layup.
Ron Harper Jr attacked the paint past two Philly defenders for his score of the game, showing his quickness on the layup. Luka Garza continued his preseason three-point barrage, nailing his first three-point attempt of the game, with Baylor Scheierman finding the big man with the assist. Boston up by 3 points with 2 minutes to go in the quarter, 25-22.
Hugo Gonzalez stole the ball at mid court and got away with a clear travel as he dunked it home late in the first quarter. Boston took a six-point lead after a quarter of play, 34-28. Hugo Gonzalez leading the way on the road with a game-high 10 points in just six minutes of play.
Dillon Mitchell and Amari Williams checked into the game to start the second quarter, they would be joined by Uzan, Devries, and Cenac Jr. Jaylen Brown laced home a corner three-pointer over Amari Williams, for his twelth point of the game. Nick Nurse rolled out a second quarter lineup of Maxey, LeBron James and Jaylen Brown and they showed some early signs of 76er chemistry regaining the lead and outscoring Boston 14 to 6 to start the quarter.
Baylor Scheierman drilled a wide open three-pointer, his first score on eight shot attempts. Both teams struggling from deep in an ugly first half shooting display, Boston shooting just 23% and Philly a dismal 14% from long range midway through the second quarter.
Hugo Gonzalez was the only player on either side shooting with confidence, he had a second triple of the game over Tyrese Maxey at the top of the key, for his 13th point. Walsh joined in on the party splashing home his first three-pointer of the game, Boston back on top by 2 points, 54-52.
Joel Embiid finally got into the game late in the second quarter, the big man hitting 7-straight points to go into halftime up by 2 points, 58-60.
Sam Cassell handed Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr, and Baylor Scheierman the start in the second half against Philly’s starting five. The Philly starters were locked in, hitting seven straight points to start the third.
Gonzalez hit his third triple of the night for his nineteenth point in just sixteen minutes of action. Embiid leading all scorers with 23 points with a quarter and a half to go in the game.
Jordan Walsh had a terrific driving move past LeBron James at the three-point line and attacked the rim with Embiid in the paint, his ninth point, showcasing some new tools in his tool bag this preseason.
Sam Cassell gave the Maine Celtics a run to end the third quarter against the Philly starters, LeBron James playing 24 minutes in the final preseason game was surprising to see.
The third quarter ended with Boston making a mini run, Uzan and Grey hitting three-pointers. With 12 minutes left in the game, it was Philadelphia up by 10 points, 84-94.
Amari Williams connected with Ron Harper Jr to score the first points of the 4th quarter as he knived into the lane.
Tucker DeVries hit a pair of triples as the (Maine) Celtics as the road team got the game back within 4 points, Gabe McGlotham really active hitting the boards for Boston.
Jaylen Brown stuck in the game as the other Philly starters looked on from the bench. He eventually would hit the pine with seven minutes left in the contest.
Ron Harper Jr gave Celtics fans plenty to cheer about mid way through the fourth as he hit back-to-back buckets, the Philly fans nervous as Boston kept hanging around, down just 3 points, 97-100.
Tucker DeVries stuck another triple to give Boston the lead, 102-100. Chris Cenac Jr had some good active minutes late in the fourth, unfortunately, he would foul out of the game with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
With the game tied at 115, it was nervous going for both teams down the stretch. DeVries and Ron Harper Jr spearheading the charge for Boston. At the end of regulation though it was still tied. Ladies and Gentleman, we would see overtime minutes in the final preseason game.
Dillon Mitchell skied for the fast break jam in overtime, Boston up 119-117. Dillon Mitchell really came alive in OT, snagging a board and drilling a triple as the rookie was showing promising signs for Boston.
Philadelphia went ice cold in the overtime period as the C’s were up by 5 points with 30 seconds on the clock. Milos Uzan netted the dagger midrange shot to win it in style for Boston.
That is a finally a wrap on the preseason. Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff have managed the minutes well, giving fans a taste of the roster depth from top to bottom. Rookies Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell have gotten minutes against NBA talent in each game which is great to see.
The Boston Celtics will travel to Detroit to face the Pistons for the first of 82 games on Tuesday, at the super early time slot of 3pm EST. Stay locked into CelticsBlog for all the pregame coverage as we embark on a big season.
