Boston Celtics
Queta had one of the best games of his life, while Jaylen Brown put up LeBron James’ numbers.
Boston Celtics center Neemias Koeta (88) celebrates a score after being fouled during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Boston. AP Photo/Robert F. Bucati
Neemias Koeta and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics, who pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 114-98 victory over the 76ers on Sunday.
Here are the takeaways.
Neemias Queta played one of the best matches of his life.
Queta has been one of the biggest stories of the season for the Celtics so far — he’s long since outgrown his “placeholder” status, which would have made his season a massive success — but even by his standards, his performance against the Sixers was remarkable.
Queta finished the match by scoring 27 points and grabbing 17 rebounds after a wonderful first half in which he scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and made two blocks. Seven of his rebounds were offensive, part of a performance in which the Celtics succeeded in recovering 50 percent of the opportunities they missed in the first half.
Queta also made a number of signature plays that left the Celtics bench laughing, like this steal where he played far enough away from Andre Drummond to catch the opposing big man’s entry pass, followed by a perfectly timed pick-and-roll and a powerful two-handed slam.
Or plays sliding shots like this one, where Queta absorbed a hit from various Sixers players and still worked his way to the rim to finish brilliantly off the glass.
Queta was quiet in the third quarter after his explosion in the first half, but he was instrumental late in the fourth quarter, scoring eight straight points from 2:56 to 1:19 to turn off the lights.
Afterwards, Queta told reporters that the match was “much easier for me now”.
“Just the amount of repetition I was doing with these guys every day,” he said. “I kind of understand what they like and what they don’t like. The game slows down for me too. Once things like that happen, when they have two guys on the ball, just being able to go out there and be a threat to defenses makes us that much more dangerous.”
“When these things happen, I just try to make the most of it.”
And Jaylen Brown, who was one of the players laughing on the bench as Queta swooped down the lane in the first half, hit the brakes a little.
“You know, hey,” Brown said, then stopped and laughed. “We don’t want him to get too carried away with some of those. But he was turning them in tonight and it looked good.”
Pros and cons of Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic had a strong performance in the second half, scoring eight of his 11 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and grabbing seven of his 12 rebounds. He shot well for the second straight game, and his spacing off the floor was a reminder of what the Celtics lost when they had to say goodbye to Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.
“As he continues to improve, it’s just another piece that we can open up, and you kind of saw that in the second half on both ends,” Mazzola said.
Brown added that he believes Vucevic should get at least 10 shots per game.
“Tonight it was nine o’clock,” Brown said. “I would like to see him hit more shots, because he is a big threat for our team.”
On the other hand, Vucevic’s flaws are especially evident against a team like the Sixers, who run everything they do through two very dynamic guards in Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Vucevic doesn’t have speed, so he primarily plays defense in the pick-and-roll, giving Maxey and Edgecombe plenty of space to get the shots they want.
Mazzola praised Vucevic’s defense and noted that the Celtics need him to protect the rim and get deflections.
However, the Sixers are perhaps the perfect explanation for why Queta remains the Celtics’ big man: Vucevic fits the team like a glove and is a deadly partner on the second unit alongside Pritchard, but at the risk of overstating loud and sometimes unhelpful statistics, he was -4 in the box while Queta was +20.
Here’s the bigger, far more important point: If you told Celtics fans in September that they were going to acquire Vucevic at the deadline and that he was going to be the big backup guy because Queta was playing well on both sides, there would be dancing on Causeway Street.
“It’s always a puzzle piece, so I’m very happy with our last two big games,” Brown said.
Jaylen Brown’s pass was excellent.
Brown had LeBron James’ stat line with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but his assists were particularly noteworthy — Brown’s eight assists included several gems like this alley-oop jumper he connected with Hugo Gonzalez.
Much of Brown’s improvement as a passer has been fueled by the improvements he’s made to his handle. He has transformed himself into a crafty player even as he has gained muscle and strength over the years, so much so that now when defenses collapse on him, he can play slow enough to catch unexpected passes as the play develops.
“I thought he chose his positions really well looking to attack and distribute, and creating 2-on-1 attacks consistently,” Mazzola said. “I think his confidence in Niemi also gave Niemi a good game, his ability to play in the seam, and then play with Derek and Sam and Baylor and those guys.”
The Celtics seem to be good at rebounding right now.
Since the calendar flipped to 2026, the Celtics have the second-best overall rebounding percentage in the NBA (54.2 percent, trailing only the Hornets) and the second-best defensive rebounding percentage (72.8 percent, trailing only the Hornets). They are rebounding on 35.1 percent of their fouls, which is good for third place behind only the Hornets and Rockets.
On Sunday, the Celtics had 59 rebounds, 19 of which were offensive. Their two big boards accounted for 29 of those boards, but Brown grabbed eight and Derrick White pulled down six.
The Celtics were supposed to be one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA, but in true Joe Mazzola fashion, they appear to have turned one of their weaknesses into a strength.
“When you play against a team like… [the Sixers]“You lose two games on the sidelines and you’re four points in three games, and that’s what these things are,” Mazzola said.
Baylor Sherman has a new celebration.
Sherman fractured his left thumb against the Nets on Friday (his shooting hand), but returned to the starting lineup on Sunday wearing a large wrap.
His shooting hasn’t looked particularly comfortable — Sherman has shot 37 percent from deep this year, but he was just 2-for-9 on Sunday.
However, Sherman was healthy enough to score the final shot of the first half, and he had a new perfect celebration ready to go: a big thumbs up in the air, which his teammates imitated.
Sherman seems to be the master of hand injury celebrations — he was also behind Jayson Tatum’s wrist-grabbing celebration after Tatum suffered a painful wrist injury against a Magic team that was overmatched in the first round of last year’s playoffs.
Most importantly: Sherman played a tough defensive game against the Sixers. He hasn’t been perfect, but it’s hard to be perfect against the likes of Maxey and Edgecombe, and he is slowly but surely establishing himself as a very reliable player. A decent three-point shooter who rebounds, defends at a high level, and drives the ball in transition with Sherman’s size has the potential for a long NBA career.
Credit to all involved here
Perhaps the most memorable play in the game had no impact on its outcome.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Sixers were within two possessions when Maxey missed a 3-pointer. Edgecombe beat up Sam Hauser for the rebound but pushed him into the stands, rushed to the second row, and saved it off Hauser’s leg and out of bounds.
Meanwhile, he kicked a woman sitting in the front row in the face.
Credit goes to Edgecombe, who not only made one of the best saves you’ll ever see on an NBA court, but also hugged the woman in the aftermath and then caught her attention during the lengthy review process to apologize again.
Credit to the woman who fought back with a big smile despite the kick to her face that seemed to draw blood.
Credit to the fans in the second row who grabbed Edgecombe and helped navigate the crowd and get him back to the ground.
Credit to the broadcast team, who were only a seat or two away from the incident, and who used their proximity to get the names of everyone involved and direct the woman’s attention to Edgecombe so he could apologize again.
All in all, just a healthy moment from the hustle and bustle of the NBA.
What’s next
The Celtics will play the second night of a back-to-back against the Bucks on Monday. On Wednesday, the rookie Hornets will visit Boston before facing the Celtics, Copper Flag and the Mavericks on Friday.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Get updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.