Celtics aim to continue their Christmas success against rivals Sixers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It’s a little hard to believe, but the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have yet to play in the 2024-25 NBA season.
That will change Wednesday, when one of sports’ best rivalries renews itself at TD Garden in a Christmas Day matchup.
This is the ninth consecutive year the Celtics have played on Christmas – a date often reserved for the league’s marquee teams and players. The Celtics are 17-20 all-time on Christmas, but Wednesday’s game will be just their fifth home game on Christmas.
The Celtics have played very well at Christmas in recent years, winning six of their previous nine games on the holiday.
Boston beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on the road during last year’s Christmas Day match. Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points with 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Here’s a recap of the Celtics’ last nine Christmas games:
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to the Lakers, 2023: 126-115 victory
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vs. Bucks, 2022: 139-118 victory
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at Bucks, 2021: 117-113 defeat
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vs. Nets, 2020: 123-95 defeat
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at Raptors, 2019: victory 118-102
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vs. 76ers, 2018: 121-114 victory (OT)
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against the wizards, 2017: 111-103 defeat
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to the Knicks, 2016: victory 119-114
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to the Nets, 2012: victory 93-76
The Celtics are no strangers to Christmas games. Jaylen Brown has the most experience on the team with eight Christmas Day games, and he’s averaging 17.8 points in those matchups.
Brown needs three points to pass John Havlicek and move into fourth place on the team’s all-time Christmas scoring list. The reigning NBA Finals MVP also needs two rebounds to pass Havlicek for fourth place on the Celtics’ all-time Christmas rebounds leaderboard.
Jayson Tatum is averaging 23.6 points through seven Christmas games. He needs 23 points to pass Bill Sharman and move into second place on the team’s all-time Christmas leaderboard. Bob Cousy is No. 1 with 223 points in 11 games.
Tatum’s 41 points against the Bucks in 2022 are the second-most by a Celtics player on Christmas, behind Tommy Heinsohn’s 45 points against Syracuse in 1961.
The 76ers have been playing better lately, but their 10-17 record is well below expectations for a team considered a legitimate title contender before the season. A convincing win against the Celtics on Christmas could potentially serve as a catalyst for Philly to turn its season around.
This is one of the reasons why this game is important for the Celtics. They can stop the Sixers’ momentum and send a message to the rest of the league that the road to the Eastern Conference title still runs through Boston.
