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Sixers, without Embiid, drop sixth in a row

It was a typical night for the 76ers. They had an 11-point cushion late in the second quarter only to blow it after intermission and didn't make enough plays down the stretch. All of that led to a 107-106 victory by the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

It was a typical night for the 76ers.

They had an 11-point cushion late in the second quarter only to blow it after intermission and didn't make enough plays down the stretch. All of that led to a 107-106 victory by the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The loss dropped the Sixers to an NBA-worst 4-16 and extended their losing streak to six games. It also marked their ninth straight defeat to the Celtics (12-8). And the Sixers dropped to 1-6 this season in games decided by six points or fewer.

A lot of that had to do with an inability to stop Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas.

The all-star finished with a season-high-tying 37 points to go with seven assists, four rebounds, one steal, and two turnovers.

"That's what you see with all-star point guards," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "You see it time and time again with some of the people that have come through our building. And you saw it with him tonight. You give him credit. He's hard to guard."

Thomas became the fifth point guard to torch the Sixers for at least 30 points in a game this season. The others were Kyrie Irving (39), James Harden (33), Russell Westbrook (32), and Jeff Teague (30).

Thirteen of Thomas' points - and 12 straight - came in the fourth quarter.

"I just love the fourth quarter," he said of stepping up his game. "I just want to win."

So did his backcourt mate Avery Bradley, who added 20 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds.

The Sixers were paced by reserve power forward Dario Saric. He tied his career highs in scoring and rebounds with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Saric, who played some small forward Saturday, made 3 of 6 three-pointers in his best performance as a Sixer.

"I prepared a little more for this game," Saric said. "I tried to give my best. I tried to play my best. I tried to think before everything happened."

His performance nearly made up for the absences of Joel Embiid, Robert Covington, and Jerryd Bayless.

Embiid missed the game with a scheduled off day to rest his right foot. He sits out one game when the Sixers play on consecutive nights.

As of Saturday night, the team hadn't decided whether he would play Monday night against the Denver Nuggets at home or Tuesday night at the Memphis Grizzlies.

Covington (sprained left knee) and Bayless (left wrist soreness) were also sidelined Saturday. They're both listed as questionable for Monday. Although, Covington could be out longer than Bayless.

They were not missed as Saric scored on an underhand finger roll to knot the score at 100 with 34.6 seconds left. Thomas put the Celtics up two with a layup four seconds later.

The Sixers had a chance to knot the score. Hollis Thompson drove the lane and missed a shot. Jonas Jerebko grabbed the defensive rebound. Moments later, Bradley was fouled and made the second foul shot to put the Celtics up, 103-100, three with 16.3 seconds left.

Saric misfired on a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. Marcus Smart was fouled after grabbing the defensive rebound. He made a pair of foul shots with 8.6 seconds left to give the Celtics a five-point advantage. Ersan Ilyasova closed the gap to two points (105-103) with a three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left.

Al Horford answered with a pair of foul shots with 1.7 seconds left to put the Celtics up, 107-103. Ilyasova then hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it a one-point game.

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers

www.philly.com/sixersblog