Basketball: Short-handed Celtics grab convincing win over 76ers but lose Brown

LOS ANGELES – The National Basketball Association-leading Boston Celtics shook off the absence of three starters and the early exit of Jaylen Brown to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-99 on Wednesday.

Brown took an accidental elbow from teammate Jayson Tatum as they both went for a rebound with less than two minutes left in the first half and was knocked out of the game with a facial contusion.

Tatum told ESPN: “I hope he’s all right. We both went for the rebound, collided... just a freak accident. I feel terrible. So, I just hope he’s going to be all right.”

Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon added: “He was quiet. He was in a lot of pain. Just told him to feel better.

“There was nothing I think we could do for him. But he was in a lot of pain when we left.”

It was a potentially crushing blow for a Celtics team already without Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Al Horford but the Eastern Conference leaders did not miss a beat.

“Tonight was the definition of a team win,” Tatum told ESPN after the Celtics shot 52.6 per cent from the floor, draining 19 of their 35 three-point attempts.

Tatum himself had a quiet night with just 12 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, connecting on just five of his 15 shots from the field.

But his unheralded teammates did more than enough to hold off the Sixers and their Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid, who led all scorers with 28 points.

James Harden scored 26 for Philadelphia, who never led after the first quarter.

Down by 11 with 5min 51sec to play, the 76ers would twice cut the deficit to three, but the Celtics found the answers.

Derrick White and Brogdon scored 19 apiece for Boston. Blake Griffin drained five three-pointers while Sam Hauser and Grant Williams hit four apiece.

“Those guys are putting in so much work,” Tatum said of the players who stepped up. “And they’re professionals. When they get their number called, they come in and compete.”

Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving shook off some new-team nerves, scoring 24 points in his Dallas debut to lead the Mavericks to a 110-104 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Irving, a former NBA champion and eight-time All-Star who was traded to Dallas on Sunday after a sometimes controversial tenure with the Brooklyn Nets, added four rebounds and five assists and the Mavericks led all the way despite the absence of star Luka Doncic, who remained sidelined with a foot injury.

“Incredible,” Irving said of his first game since the trade he requested from Brooklyn where, he said this week, he “felt very disrespected”.

“I had natural nerves out there, so I was just trying to play well,” he added. “I got to play the game that I love with some guys that were selfless out there and it just feels good.”

Irving made nine of his 17 shots from the field and delivered four three-pointers against a Clippers team who were among those reportedly courting him.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd said Irving’s contribution went beyond scoring for a Mavericks team who have floundered without Doncic on the floor.

“His leadership down the stretch of getting everyone organised... a lot of great stuff on this new journey with him. It’s going to be fun.” AFP