Brown, Irving lead Celtics to comeback London victory
Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving starred as the Boston Celtics recovered from a 22-point deficit to triumph 114-103 over the Philadelphia 76ers at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday.
The Eastern Conference leaders overturned a hefty disadvantage in the second quarter of Thursday’s NBA London encounter with a dominant closing half, as Philadelphia proved unable to keep pace. It is the third time this season the Sixers have failed to see out victory from a winning position against the Celtics.
Second-year forward Brown top-scored for the Celtics with 21 points, while star point guard Irving posted 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds as Brad Stevens’ side won their seventh straight match to move to 34-10.
Marcus Morris provided 19 points from the bench, though he received a technical in the fourth quarter for shoving Ben Simmons after the Sixers guard made no effort to avoid his screen.
The Sixers looked strong in the early exchanges. JJ Redick shone in the first half with 18 points off six-of-eight shooting, including four three-pointers, but he only added four to his tally in the second half.
Simmons also proved quiet after half-time, while Joel Embiid again struggled from the floor against the Celtics.
Embiid was four-of-16 from the floor when the teams met in October and shot 35.3 per cent this time, but 10 rebounds and five assists meant he finished with a double-double.
The Celtics will look to extend their winning streak when they return home to Boston and entertain the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. The Sixers, meanwhile, will be hoping to get back to winning ways against the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
After trailing by as much as 22 PTS, the @celtics storm back and defeat the @sixers at #NBALondon, 114-103!#Celtics have now won 7 straight games. pic.twitter.com/MccFHWRCGR
— NBA (@NBA) January 11, 2018
