Joel Embiid, 76ers Earn 89-80 Win vs. Celtics in Kyrie Irving's Absence

A week ago, the Philadelphia 76ers blew a 22-point lead and fell to the Boston Celtics in London. 

On Thursday night, they exacted their revenge with an 89-80 win at TD Garden to avoid a season series sweep at the hands of their Atlantic Division foes. 

The 80 points were a season-low for the Celtics (34-12), and it would have been easy to point to Kyrie Irving's absence (left shoulder soreness) as the reason for their scoring woes. 

Instead, the loss represented more of the same for a squad that entered the night ranked 29th in offensive rating (98.5) dating back to the start of the new year. 

The Sixers (21-20) were short-handed as well with JJ Redick out because of a small cortical crack in his left leg, but they found sustainable offense from a host of contributors. 

Chief among them was Joel Embiid. 

In 35 minutes, the newly minted All-Star starter posted 26 points (10-of-19 shooting), 16 rebounds and six assists as he made light work of seemingly every big body the Celtics threw his way one game after Boston surrendered 45 points and 16 boards to New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis. 

Needless to say, that was a welcome return to form for Embiid after he averaged 13.0 points on 30.3 percent shooting in his first two appearances against the Celtics earlier this season. 

Embiid and backup point guard T.J. McConnell were especially clutch in the third quarter—a period that has plagued the Sixers all season—when they combined for 19 points to give Philadelphia an 18-point cushion entering the final frame. 

McConnell totaled 15 points and three steals as he finished in double figures for the third straight game. 

The Sixers also played the Celtics even in a clash of high-profile rookies as Ben Simmons stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds and four assists while Jayson Tatum was limited to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. 

Tatum's inability to catch fire sans Irving was bad enough, but compounding matters was the fact Boston compiled 13 assists compared to 19 turnovers. 

For a team that had been averaging 14.1 giveaways a night, that sloppiness wasn't encouraging. 

With or without Irving, the Celtics will attempt to snap their two-game losing skid Sunday when they host the Orlando Magic. 

The Sixers, meanwhile, will aim for a third straight win Saturday when Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to Wells Fargo Center.