EditorsNote: Updates: 1. Minor edits throughout
Joel Embiid scored a season-high 38 points and added 13 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers handed the Boston Celtics their first home loss 115-109 Thursday night.
Tobias Harris added 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as Mike Scott scored 15 on five 3-pointers as the 76ers won their fourth straight and for the eighth time in their last nine. Philadelphia narrowed the list of undefeated teams at home to itself and Miami.
Kemba Walker had 29 points, and Enes Kanter (20) and Daniel Theis (16) each enjoyed season-high scoring nights for the Celtics, who dropped their second straight.
Boston, playing the second night of a back-to-back, got within 108-106 on a Kanter dunk with 41.3 seconds remaining after trailing by nine with 2:25 left. Ben Simmons hit a pair of free throws, but a Jayson Tatum three cut the Celtics deficit to 110-109 with 27.3 ticks to go.
After two Embiid free throws, Boston turned over the ball on an inbounds pass. Embiid was fouled again, hit one of two at the line and would add another two free throws as the 76ers closed it out.
Tied at 88 with 7:46 to go, Philadelphia used a 12-4 run to go up 100-92 on an Embiid 3-pointer with 4:06 left.
The 76ers took their first lead since 7:19 into the game when Scott nailed a 3-pointer to go up 70-68 with 7:07 left in the third. Philadelphia would carry an 81-80 edge entering the fourth after scoring the final five points of the quarter.
The Celtics matched their largest lead of the first half on a Walker floater that made it 55-47 with 2:36 to go. The 76ers responded with a 9-4 run to enter the break down 59-56.
Walker had 21 points, and Embiid paced Philadelphia with 16 at intermission.
Walker had 12 points -- same as the total he scored when the teams met to open the season in October -- in the first quarter alone as Boston led 34-28 after one.
Al Horford (knee, hamstring) missed his first game back in Boston since joining the 76ers as a free agent in the offseason. A Celtic for three seasons, he received a standing ovation when shown on the jumbotron.
-Field Level Media
