Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers Falter Late, Drop Game 3 To Boston

2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22.5
VJ Edgecombe – 16
Joel Embiid – 11.5
Paul George – 8
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 5
Justin Edwards – 4
Andre Drummond – 3
Quentin Grimes – 3
Jared McCain :’( – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
MarJon Beauchamp – 2
Adem Bona – 1
Porter Martone – 1
Cam Payne – 1
Jabari Walker – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

The Sixers welcomed the Celtics to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday night for a massive Game 3 in South Philly. The teams came in dead locked at a 1-1 series tie after the Sixers stole Tuesday night’s Game 2 in Boston.

This game was highly contested from start to finish as the Celtics got out to a five-point lead after the first quarter behind an early onslaught from three.

The Celtics continued their hot shooting from three into the second quarter, but the Sixers stellar two-point defense kept them in the ball game despite some struggles of their own offensively. The Celtics took a 54-47 lead to the intermission.

The Sixers won their first quarter of the night in the third 27-25 behind a steady dose of Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. The Celtics held just a five-point advantage going to the fourth.

The Sixers took a brief 85-84 lead early in the final frame and the crowd was as raucous as it’s been in years in hopes that maybe this would be a breakthrough moment in this rivalry that has haunted the Sixers so much over the years. The Sixers trailed by just one with two minutes to go before a Jayson Tatum three coming off a Sixers defensive breakdown gave the Celtics a four-point lead. A George bucket with 1:40 to go cut the lead to two yet again. Another defensive breakdown and Pritchard three stretched the Celtics’ lead to five points. After two Sixers free throws that made it a one-possession game, the Sixers forced a miss but an offensive rebound and kick out that led to a Tatum iso three would be the nail in the coffin.

The Celtics went on to take a 108-100 win and a 2-1 series lead.

Time for the Bell Ringer.

Tyrese Maxey: 31 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 12-for-31 from the field

Tyrese Maxey went out on his shield in this one firing until the bitter end. Maxey hit multiple big momentum swinging shots to keep the Sixers in it all night and even momentarily give them the lead in the fourth. A couple late misses while Boston hit three consecutive threes ultimately buried the Sixers, but not in fault of the efforts of the star guard.

Paul George: 18 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 7-for-14 from the field

Paul George is still really good at basketball, even if he’s not the explosive near 30-points-a-night scorer he once was at his peak. The Sixers ran a lot of their late game offense through George who either found space for himself or found his teammates for high percentage shots. George is still far and away the best and most impactful defender on this Sixers team, who struggled to contain the Celtics’ perimeter onslaught when George isn’t directly involved in the action.