Embiid wasn’t the only Sixers player facing a challenge coming into the game. Tyrese Maxey was fired up when his phone dinged with a message from his friend Trendon Watford. The Nets guard told Maxey he is always taking over regular old games, but could he do it on Christmas with all of his family watching?

A lackluster defensive effort caused the Celtics to come up short. The post Tyrese Maxey torches Celtics’ defense as 76ers beat Celtics on Christmas: 9 takeaways appeared first on Boston.com.

But Maxey zipped past Pritchard and found a clear lane to the basket, where he put in an off-balance layup just before time expired. The play all but finished off the Celtics in this 118-114 loss, and it was an example of the uncharacteristic missteps that doomed them.