Sixers live another day, stave off elimination with 103-92 victory

PHILADELPHIA — T.J. McConnell was assertive while starting in the biggest game of the season with the Philadelphia 76ers on the brink of elimination from the National Basketball Association playoffs.

Now, it’s on to Game 5.

The Sixers fed off his grit in Monday’s 103-92 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Wells Fargo Center. Game 5 is set for Wednesday at the Celtics’ TD Garden. With a commanding 3-1 lead, Boston could clinch the best-of-seven series with a win Wednesday.

However, that was the furthest from the Sixers’ mind during the game. They were too busy taking it to the Celtics.

McConnell, who started in place of Robert Covington, provided the spark.

The point guard scored a career-high 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting. He also added seven rebounds and five assists while playing 38 minutes and 57 seconds.

Ben Simmons (19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists) and Joel Embiid (15 points, 13 rebounds) both had double-doubles for the Sixers. Dario Saric had a 25 teamhigh points.

Jayson Tatum had a team-high 20 points for Boston, while Marcus Morris added 17.

The Sixers had a commanding 18-point cushion in the fourth quarter before cruising to the 11-point victory. They shook up their starting lineup as a way to give themselves a lift.

McConnell started at shooting guard alongside Simmons in the backcourt. Meanwhile, J.J. Redick, the normal shooting guard, slid to small forward in place of Robert Covington, who came off the bench.

Covington was solid in Game 2. However, he struggled mightily in Game 1 and Game 3, shooting a combined 0-for-14 in those matchups. He finished with three points on 1-for-7 shooting — including going 1 of 3 from long range — on Monday.

The McConnell and Simmons backcourt was successful from the start. On a fast break, McConnell delivered a bounce pass to Simmons, who finished the play with a dunk. That put the Sixers up 8-5 with 7 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

Philly had an 11-7 advantage before Covington subbed out McConnell at the 6:07 mark of the quarter.

Covington, however, missed both his shot attempts before leaving the game a minute into the second quarter due to picking up his third foul.

In regards to fouls, the Celtics were called for 16 of them in the first half and 28 for the game. Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Morris all had three apiece before intermission. Semi Ojeleye had two.

Things got heated after Terry Rozier was called for an offensive foul with 2:27 before intermission. Embiid went for the ball, and the Celtics point guard tried to keep it away from him while arguing the call with the referee. So Embiid went for the ball again, and Rozier shoved the All-Star centre. Rozier then appeared to try to shove Embiid again while they were locked up.

After a long review, the referees called double technicals.

The tussle appeared to motivate Embiid. He buried a 3 to give the Sixers a 43-38 lead once play resumed. And his dunk while cutting to the basket right before the buzzer gave the Sixers a 47-43 halftime advantage.