Celtics beat 76ers 125-120 in overtime as Hugo Gonzalez scores 21 off the bench

The Boston Celtics closed their preseason with a 125-120 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, rallying from 10 points down entering the fourth quarter with a lineup made up almost entirely of reserves and young players. Boston won the final period 31-21 to force the extra five minutes, then held Philadelphia to five points in overtime.

The result means little in the standings, but it said plenty about the depth behind Boston’s regulars. Jayson Tatum and most of the usual rotation stayed home, and former Sixers assistant Sam Cassell ran the bench in place of Joe Mazzulla. Philadelphia, by contrast, played its stars for most of three quarters, and spent 33 minutes in front.

How the game turned

Boston built a 34-28 lead after one quarter as the Sixers missed their first nine attempts from three. Philadelphia answered with a 32-24 second quarter and a 34-26 third, when Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey took over, and the margin reached 14 at its widest. The home side carried a 94-84 lead into the fourth.

That lead disappeared once the starters sat. Jaylen Brown was the last of them to leave, with 7:51 to play, and the Celtics’ second unit kept attacking the glass and firing from deep. Boston grabbed 18 offensive rebounds to Philadelphia’s five, won the boards 63-46 and made 17 threes to the Sixers’ seven. Regulation ended level at 115 after Justin Edwards missed a jumper that would have won it for Philadelphia, and Boston controlled overtime 10-5.

Leading performers

Hugo Gonzalez led Boston with 21 points in under 20 minutes off the bench, shooting 6 of 10 from the field, 3 of 7 from deep and 6 of 8 at the line. Ron Harper Jr. added 16 points and finished plus-18 in 34 minutes, Milos Uzan scored 14, Luka Garza had 13 points and six rebounds, and Chris Cenac Jr. posted 12 points and eight rebounds. Gabe McGlothan pulled down 13 rebounds and Hayden Gray handed out seven assists with three steals.

Embiid was the best player on the floor for long stretches, scoring 27 points with eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes, and making 11 of 13 free throws. It was a cleaner night than his first preseason outing, an eight-turnover loss to Brooklyn. “I kind of got possessed,” Embiid said afterward. Maxey scored 22 on 7-of-11 shooting with six assists, and Jabari Walker added 13 off the bench.

Brown scored 20 points with eight rebounds and two blocks in his first game against the franchise he played for a decade before this summer’s trade. “I played there for 10 years, so it will never be out of the way,” he said. LeBron James, in his first home game as a Sixer, finished with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 25 minutes. Labaron Philon scored 11 with five assists.

Philadelphia’s problems were familiar ones for a team still sorting out its rotation: 7-of-38 shooting from three, 18 turnovers, and a bench that could not hold a double-digit lead. The Sixers did reach the free-throw line 41 times and made 31.

What comes next

The regular season starts Tuesday, October 20 for both teams. Boston opens on the road against the Detroit Pistons (Game Center). Philadelphia visits the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. ET (Game Center). Brown gets his first regular-season look at the Celtics on November 10 in Philadelphia. The full box score is in the Game Center for Friday’s game.