Jayson Tatum, Celtics Excite NBA Fans After Win vs. Joel Embiid, 76ers Without Brown

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The Boston Celtics were without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porziņģis on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. But Jayson Tatum had it covered.

The Celtics superstar had another strong effort in a season already full of them, putting up 29 points, eight boards and six assists in Boston’s 117-107 win over the Sixers.

He was aided by Derrick White’s 27 points and Jrue Holiday’s double-double (18 points, 10 boards), while Philly got an uncharacteristically muted performance from Joel Embiid (20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, minus-23) in the loss.

Perhaps being on the second half of a back-to-back and a hip injury that had the big man questionable before the game led to a ho-hum performance.

Regardless, the victory moved the Celtics to 9-2 on the season and alone atop the Eastern Conference standings. It also evened the season series after the Sixers (8-3) beat Boston last week.

So it was a pretty big win, even this early in the season, and NBA fans and pundits alike were impressed by Tatum’s performance:

Tatum is developing a habit for torturing the Sixers in big games. His 51 points in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philly last season ended the 76ers’ season and still haunts the city.

But while Tatum put Philly away on Wednesday, it was Boston’s role players who gave him the chance to do so. The Celtics finished 18-of-50 from three, with seven different players hitting from beyond the arc. Al Horford again defended Embiid admirably and kept him off the free-throw line (only four attempts from the charity stripe for the defending MVP).

The Celtics needed a strong night from Tatum and a few of the “others” to have big performances to overcome the absence of Brown and Porziņģis. They got both.