The Celtics won a preseason overtime thriller over the Sixers 125-120 on Friday in Philadelphia. Boston finishes the exhibition slate at 4-0. The C’s rested the majority of their main guys in their preseason finale while the 76ers gave their regulars one last tuneup.
Notably, it was Jaylen Brown’s first game playing against the Celtics since the trade. In an interesting wrinkle, Boston’s starting lineup didn’t include a single player Brown played with last season. Still, he ended up matching up with some of his former teammates Friday once the Celtics went to their bench.
The Celtics kept it close early, then the Sixers pulled away with their starters. But Boston rallied to set up a clutch preseason game. The Celtics outlasted the Sixers in overtime as the both teams emptied their bench for the final few minutes of the game.
The unavailable Celtics included Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta, Mike Conley and Devin Carter (more on him later).
Hugo Gonzalez led the way with 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting off the bench. Luka Garza added 13 points and six rebounds. Joel Embiid had 27 points and eight rebounds while Tyrese Maxey had 22 points and six assists. The C’s dominated the glass again, including a 18-5 edge on the offensive glass.
The Celtics open the regular season next, though they’ll have to set their roster in the coming days. The C’s will face the Pistons at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Detroit in the first game of the 2026-27 regular season. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Philadelphia:
Familiar foe: Brown playing his first game against the Celtics since the trade was certainly notable. But there wasn’t too much fanfare in the lead-up to Friday’s game. The stakes are just too low during the preseason. Still, it was the first time Celtics fans actually saw Brown play on their division rival. Brown finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes. The first time the Celtics face Brown in the regular season will be Nov. 10. Brown’s return to Boston will is set for Jan. 21.
Starting lineup: The Celtics went deep to their bench, playing multiple Exhibit 10 guys and those fighting for their NBA lives to open the game. That group included Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, Gabe McGlothan, Chris Cenac Jr. and Tucker DeVries. These are important minutes for these guys who will likely get waived in the coming days. If they don’t stick with the Maine Celtics, they’re still putting up reps on tape in hopes of landing elsewhere in the league.
Staying hot: Gonzalez has been scorching from 3-point land during the preseason — he kept it up Friday. Gonzalez went 3-for-7 on 3s Friday, finishing 11-for-20 from deep in the preseason. Realistically, he’ll make the most impact on the defensive end during the season. But if Gonzalez can be a plus 3-point shooter, that’ll go a long way for his career. Of course, a four-game sample size isn’t definitive either way. But hey, it certainly doesn’t hurt to make shots when the opportunities are there.
Regular season next: Expect the Celtics to finalize their roster over the weekend. As a reminder, they’ll likely remain at 14 standard contracts for salary cap purposes. However, they do have an open two-way slot they’ll look to fill with likely one of the Exhibit 10 guys. Carter was expected to get that spot, but he hasn’t played in the last three games due to an illness. There should be some clarity soon when it comes to the Celtics roster.
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