What happened the last time the Boston Celtics faced the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Playoffs?
Here we are. Celtics vs 76ers. This is one of the oldest rivalries in NBA history. The first time they met was back in 1953. They’ve played 100 games so far, with the Celtics taking 54 of them and the Sixers taking 46.
The last time the 76ers faced the Celtics was in the 2012 NBA playoffs. This was a match-up that many didn’t expect. The Sixers, in round one, faced the top seed Chicago Bulls. They lost their league MVP, Derrick Rose, to injury. The Sixers advanced to meet the Celtics, who were just about to end the Big 3 era. The series went to seven games before the Celtics advanced to the conference finals.
2012 was interesting because that was the 2011-12 season, which was the latest NBA lockout. So, the most games played was 66. Also, we had three games in three nights. It was a brutal season that saw plenty of players go down with injuries, as the Bulls found out. I always asked myself if Rose would’ve been hurt if his body wasn’t put in such a pressurized situation.
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One quick glance tells me that this series was literally back and forth. The Celtics won game one. Sixers won game two. Boston. Philly. Boston. Philly. Boston finally closed it out.
So, Boston had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. They also had Rajon Rondo. The Sixers had Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and key bench players in Lou Williams and Thad Young.
While the Celtics played well, for the most part, there was one player who really struggled. Ray Allen wasn’t himself. No, really, something was wrong. He shot 27 percent from three point land. I know! While his free throw percentage looks bad at 78 percent (compared to career shooting of 89 percent), he was actually 7 for 9 from the line, so that’s not so bad.
In fact, if you split his free throw shooting by teams he played for, his best shooting from three point range and the free throw line was with the Celtics! In fact, all of his shooting numbers were career best with Boston. But yeah, he didn’t shoot well, and I’m pretty sure that was a key factor keeping the 76ers in the series.
I remember being at the game six of that series, where the Sixers held on to avoid elimination in front of their home crowd. I remember that game being ugly. As I think about that game, I remember the series was ugly in general. For most of the history for these teams, it’s been a lot of grinding out. A lot of physicality and stuff like that.
Let’s talk about the entire history for a bit.
Boston and Philly have participated in a 4OT game back in 1953. The second playoff game ever between these teams went quite the distance. With that said, the last OT game between the teams is from 1966. Yup.
There was a period during the late 70s and early 80s where they met for a while. They met in 77, 80, 81, and 82. You can also throw in 85 if you want. However, the real rivalry was in the 60s. They met 61, 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69. Whew!
In those 100 games, the amount of series played so far is 19. So, 2018 is the 20th meeting. For those 19 meetings, Boston has won 12 which means Philly won only 7.
Back in 2012, as mentioned eariler, the Celtics won game seven. In the history, we’ve seen seven game sevens. Huh. Boston won five sevens while the Sixers took two of them.
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The first two meetings, 1953 and 54, were sweeps. The Celtics got the first sweep and the Sixers the second. Those are the only sweeps. The longest win streaks for both teams is six.
Ultimately, it’s been a competitive series with plenty of history in it.