Andre Iguodala added 13 points with nine rebounds and eight assists for the Sixers, who bounced back from Wednesday's overtime loss to the Thunder and have won four of five. Jodie Meeks added 12 points while Jrue Holiday posted nine points and seven assists for the victors.
"That's my guy," Sixers coach Doug Collins said of Iguodala. "I am going to put it in his hands and ride him down the stretch."
Jeff Green paced the Celtics with 18 points in a reserve role while Nenad Krstic added 16 points and 15 rebounds for Boston, which had won seven straight and nine of the last ten meetings in Philadelphia.
Green and Krstic are both relatively new to the Celtics as they were a part of the Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City deal at the trade deadline. Kevin Garnett added 14 points while Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.
"We never established anything, we had no rhythm," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We just tried to do things on our own. We are usually the team that executes at the end but we were trying to get something out of nothing."
The Sixers took a 49-45 lead into the break, and after Pierce opened the third with a jumper, Philadelphia went on an 12-4 run that widened its lead to a game-high 61-51. The Celtics methodically cut their deficit down the stretch and Pierce's jumper tied the game at 66 with 2:44 remaining.
However, Philadelphia took a 72-68 lead into the final stanza.
The Celtics took a lead on Green's bank-shot just over 3 1/2 minutes in, putting the game at 76-75, but after trading the lead for the next few minutes the Sixers used a Lou Williams jumper and Meeks free throws to take an 85-81 edge with 4:44 remaining.
Both teams went cold from the field and had to make up for it at the line until Iguodala's driving layup with 12.8 seconds remaining put the Philadelphia lead at 89-84.
The Celtics called a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, but after Garnett's layup the Celtics failed to get a foul on the Sixers, and Philadelphia played keep-away to run out the clock.
The first quarter remained close in the opening minutes, and just over the midway point the Sixers started to create some distance. Hawes' jumper inside the final two minutes put the Philadelphia lead at 25-17, but the Celtics ended the quarter on an 5-0 run to trim their deficit to 25-22 after opening 12 minutes.
Philadelphia widened its lead to as high as nine in the closing minutes of the second quarter with Hawes' three putting the Sixers' lead at 41-32 with 5 1/2 remaining. The Celtics scored the game's next seven points, making it a one possession game, and two Evan Turner free throws with 42.2 ticks remaining gave Philadelphia a four-point lead at the break.
Game Notes
Philadelphia will now hit the road for a five-game trek, featuring visits to the Bucks, Jazz, Clippers, Kings and Portland...The Sixers are now a half-game behind the Knicks for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference...Williams finished with eight points in a reserve role...Philadelphia scored 12 points on 11 Boston turnovers.
Copyright: The Sports Network
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