When ESPN first scheduled the 76ers-Celtics game for a Friday night national TV matchup, the network likely envisioned a showdown between several of the league’s brightest stars — Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis.
But, by the end of the game, Brown was the only player of those five on the court. Shortly before tipoff, Embiid and Maxey were ruled out with an illness, setting the stage for exactly the kind of lopsided game this Celtics group has historically struggled with.
Then, with just one second left in the third quarter, Tatum was ejected after being issued his second technical foul of the night.