Off-kilter Sixers lose to Celts

BOSTON - The 76ers entered this game off balance.

Lou Williams remained in Philly with a strained right hamstring. A new guy, guard Antonio Daniels, joined the team at the morning shootaround. And power forward Elton Brand - it was revealed on Tuesday morning - has been playing with a fracture in his left hand.

Not optimal conditions when playing the Boston Celtics, a team that pounces on miscues and pushes harder if you're already leaning.

That's exactly what the Celtics did on Tuesday night, dominating the Sixers in the second half and winning, 99-82.

"They executed brilliantly and they had two or three really great defensive spurts," said Sixers coach Doug Collins. "I was telling our guys: 'That's what championship teams do.' They might not play it for 48 minutes, but they're going to lock you down for stretches."

The stretch that sent the Sixers spiraling came at the beginning of the third quarter. The Sixers went scoreless for the first 5 minutes, 41 seconds of the second half, shooting 0 for 9 from the floor and committing three turnovers.

Trailing by only 54-50 at halftime, the Sixers quickly found themselves down by 63-50.

"It got away from us at the beginning of the third quarter," said Brand, who scored 12 points. "We let them hit some shots, and we didn't execute on our end. Once we got down 13, 14, we had to fight back to get it down and then kind of ran out of juice."

The Sixers, who have completed the road portion of their regular-season schedule, dropped to 40-38. Led by Paul Pierce's 18 points, the Celtics improved to 54-23.

It's possible that Tuesday's game was a preview of a first-round playoff series: The Sixers likely will play either Boston or the Miami Heat when the NBA playoffs open next week.

Boston and Miami are bouncing between the Eastern Conference's second and third seeds, while the Sixers and the New York Knicks are vying for the sixth and seventh spots. The Sixers, who now hold the sixth seed by a half-game, play the Knicks on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The silver lining for the Sixers peeked through in the form of rookie Evan Turner, who responded to Williams' absence with an aggression rarely seen this season. Turner looked as if he was on a downhill slope toward the hoop: He finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor.

"I just wanted to come in and be aggressive," Turner said. "I knew we were short bodies, so I didn't have to worry about coming out or anything like that. So I knew to attack. . . . I was able to play with the ball, so I was able to get a rhythm."

Turner's game - at least the one he showed on Tuesday night - can help the Sixers get back on track. The crafty, savvy Celtics were going to be a difficult out on this night, regardless of how potent Turner's backup minutes were, but as the Sixers play out this regular season on their home floor, Turner proved he could fill the gap Williams' injury created.

"I think we have to figure out a little rotation without Lou," Brand said. "I think what sets we're going to run, things like that. When we executed and played defense, we were in the game. And when we didn't, they execute too well for us not to. And that's when they got on top of us."