Regarding the tanking aspect, however, head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't even want to bring that up, saying that he doesn't pay attention to it and that he has a responsibility to the fans in Boston and the players in Boston to go out every single night and do his best job to ensure the team has a chance to win.

The Boston Celtics handed the Philadelphia 76ers their first loss of the season and delivered a wire-to-wire reminder of their resilience, edging out a tense 109-108 victory to open NBA Cup play on Friday night.

The Rockets, who arrived in Boston after their Wednesday road game in Toronto, deployed five players who were 6-foot-10 or taller. The Celtics countered with three, one of whom played only six minutes. It would take a grave effort to overcome such a difference.

Embiid was not happy with the loss, of course, but still took pleasure in the big comeback his team was almost able to pull off against the Celtics in the second half. "I'm excited, because I feel like we grew up," he explained via CLNS Media before pivoting to laud the 76ers' opponent.

Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets cruised to a 128-101 win over Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.

Kevin Durant anotó 26 puntos en tres cuartos antes de descansar el cuarto, Amen Thompson añadió 17 puntos y nueve rebotes, y los Rockets de Houston vencieron el sábado por la noche 128-101 a los Celtics de Boston.

T he Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- the league that would become today's NBA),

Boston fan and NBA expert Bill Simmons could not hold back from criticizing Joel Embiid’s foul-drawing tactics.