The Sixers’ stars were both sidelined Friday in Boston.
An illness caused Joel Embiid to miss a second consecutive Sixers game on Friday night.
Tyrese Maxey joined him on the sidelines due to illness, while Nicolas Batum sat out because of soreness in his right index finger.
On Thursday night, the Sixers upgraded Embiid to questionable, but they ultimately ruled him out for the road matchup against the Celtics. They added Maxey to the injury report a few hours before the tip-off.
The starting lineup for the Sixers consisted of Patrick Beverley, De’Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris Sr., and Paul Reed.
Embiid, who participated in the Sixers’ first 14 games, has now been absent for three of the team’s last five matches. He skipped the second night of a back-to-back last Wednesday against the Timberwolves due to left hip soreness. Maxey, who hadn’t missed a game this year until Friday, has been playing at an All-Star level, averaging a league-high 38.4 minutes and posting 27.0 points and 6.7 assists per contest.
After missing three games due to illness, Sixers guard Jaden Springer returned and was available. However, wings Kelly Oubre Jr. (fractured rib) and Danuel House Jr. (left quad contusion) remained sidelined. Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis also continued to miss games, sitting out his third consecutive match due to a left calf strain.
On Friday, the Celtics had an 8-0 home record for the season. The Sixers managed to secure two victories in Boston during last year’s second-round playoff series against the Celtics. Notably, in one of these wins, Reed started in place of Embiid, who was sidelined by a right knee sprain. However, their most recent significant game at TD Garden was a decisive Game 7 defeat.
