Boston, MA
Game 6 takeaways: Fourth-quarter Tatum helps C’s survive vs. Sixers
The Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will come down to a Game 7 at TD Garden.
The Celtics kept their season alive with a dramatic victory Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center. They started strong and led by as many as 16 points, but the Sixers erased the deficit and took the lead in the middle of the third quarter.
Fortunately for Boston, it regained the lead and pulled away late in the fourth quarter to escape with a 95-86 win. Jayson Tatum played the hero with 16 points in the frame after struggling mightily throughout the night. The 76ers scored 13 total points in the fourth.
Marcus Smart led the C’s in the scoring column with 22 points. Tatum finished with 19 and Jaylen Brown chipped in 17.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 26 points apiece. James Harden tallied 13 points but did not score in the fourth quarter.
The stage is set for Celtics-Sixers Game 7 on Sunday. But first, here are three takeaways from Thursday’s crucial win in Philly.
A nightmare start and clutch finish for Tatum
If the Sixers had finished off the Celtics, Jayson Tatum would have taken some serious heat.
Tatum once again didn’t make a shot in the first quarter, making him 1-for-24 in the frame over his last three games. He started 0-for-11 with only one point in the first half and didn’t make his first field goal until the 8:35 mark of the third quarter.
In Games 4 and 5, Tatum made up for his slow starts with strong second halves. It didn’t look like that would be the case on Thursday night — but then the fourth quarter happened.
The two-time first-team All-NBAer found his shot at the perfect time. He drilled three straight 3-pointers, including the go-ahead bucket, late in the fourth.
Sixteen of Tatum’s 19 points came in the final frame. When the game was on the line, the four-time All-Star showed up and willed his team to victory.
Obviously, the Celtics will want their superstar to deliver from start to finish in Sunday’s Game 7. Another Tatum no-show for three quarters probably won’t end well. But this win was a testament to Tatum’s resilience and the C’s ability to keep pace with the Sixers even when their stars aren’t on their game.
C’s guards step up
Game 5 wasn’t one to remember for the Celtics’ guard trio of Smart, Derrick White, and Malcolm Brogdon. They shot a combined 7-for-22 from the field and forced Tatum and Brown to carry the load offensively.
Game 6 was a bounce-back performance for the group and it all started with Smart. The longest-tenured Celtic preached about the “dogfight” mindset his team needed to bring to Philadelphia and backed up every word of his statement. He notched a team-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting (3-8 3-PT) with seven assists, seven rebounds, and two steals. It was arguably his best all-around game of the 2022-23 season.
Brogdon was the catalyst early on with 11 points in the first quarter. The Sixth Man of the Year finished with 16, hitting four of his six 3-pointers.
White was replaced in the starting lineup by Robert Williams but still made an impact off the bench. The first-time All-Defense selection made an impact on both ends of the floor with nine points (3-5 3-PT), two rebounds, an assists, a steal, and a block in 19 minutes.
This group, especially Smart, kept the Celtics afloat while Tatum scuffled through the first three quarters. Boston will hope it won’t need another 22-point night out of Smart to make up for Tatum’s shooting woes in Game 7.
Lineup adjustment pays off
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla went with the double-big starting lineup with Williams alongside Al Horford. From the opening tip, it was clear it was the right decision.
Williams’ presence with Horford added a layer of difficulty for 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid in the paint. The improved interior defense was noticeable throughout the first quarter and excellent in the fourth as Philly was limited to only 13 points. The C’s also outrebounded the Sixers, 50-38.
Williams tied Smart as a team-best +18. The 25-year-old big man ended up with 10 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 28 minutes.
We should expect Mazzulla to roll with the same lineup on Sunday.
Boston, MA
Boston doctor Derrick Todd accused of sexually assaulting 200 patients charged with rape
A prominent Boston-area doctor accused in several lawsuits of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients was indicted by a grand jury on rape charges.
Dr. Derrick Todd allegedly assaulted two women during examinations in December 2022 and June 2023 at the Charles River Medical Associates in Framingham, Mass., the Middlesex County District Attorney announced Thursday.
Todd, a rheumatologist, appeared in Middlesex Superior Court Friday after he handed himself over to police the previous night.
The two women had either a pelvic exam or pap smear with the doctor when the alleged assault occurred, NBC Boston reported.
The patients alleged the exams went beyond “normal.”
One of the women endured enough pain for her to scream at Todd to stop but the doctor didn’t listen and continued the exam.
The second patient alleged she didn’t give Todd consent to perform the specific examination but the doctor went ahead despite the rejection, the outlet reported.
Todd pleaded not guilty to the two rape charges.
He was held on a $10,000 bail.
A judge ordered Todd to surrender his passport, not have any contact with his alleged victims, and give up all medical licenses.
Claims of abuse from Todd date back to 2010 but only surfaced in 2023 after Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital received anonymous complaints.
Todd is the former chief of clinical rheumatology at the Boston hospital but resigned after 14 years in 2023 when two other physicians questioned the appropriateness of pelvis exams for his rheumatology patients, the Boston Globe reported.
Over 200 of Todd’s former patients accused him of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations, and rectal examinations.
The accusers include over 200 women and several men between teenagers and 60-year-olds.
Attorneys for 180 of the former patients say the two rape charges are just the start of the doctor’s legal battle.
“It’s just the beginning of the criminal case against Dr. Todd, but it does help validate the civil claims that Lubin & Meyer is pursuing on behalf of so many of his former patients,” Attorney William Thompson said. “Fundamentally, it’s about a doctor abusing his position. And taking advantage of patients who put their trust in him for his own personal sexual gratification.”
Todd voluntarily ceased his medical practice in Massachusetts in September 2023.
The announcement was made in a letter to the Board of Registration in Medicine.
The class-action lawsuit against Todd also listed the hospital as a defendant for allegedly knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it.
Todd was fired from the hospital in July 2024.
With Post wires
Boston, MA
O’shae Brissett, part of Boston Celtics championship, reportedly signs with Long Island Nets
O’shae Brissett, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in June but hasn’t played professionally since, has reportedly signed an NBA G-League level contract with the Brooklyn Nets G League team, the Long Island Nets.
Bobby Manning was first with the news Friday morning…
Sources tell me Oshae Brissett signed a G-League contract with the Long Island Nets
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) January 17, 2025
The 6’7” 26-year-old Brissett, a defensive specialist, will join Long Island having last played for the Boston Celtics as a part of the NBA Championship squad last year.
In his defining moment of the title run, Brissett was inserted as a small ball center by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla in Game 2 of the Celtics-Pacers conference title series. It was his first playoff minutes, but he played a critical role defensively, picking up three steals and finishing a +15 in his 12 minutes on the court.
“Just his presence, his energy, his athleticism,” Mazzulla said after that game. “Just gave us, I think he had a dunk, got a steal, got us out in transition with a couple [of] rebounds. So just, he plays with such a high level of intensity and energy. It’s big for us.”
In his 55 games with the Celtics in the 2023-24 season, Brissett started just one and played roughly 11.5 minutes per game. He averaged 3.7 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He shot 44.4% from the field, 27.3% from beyond the arc. He adds yet another NBA veteran presence to the young Long Island Nets team with .
Brissett played three years with the Indiana Pacers, his best year coming in 2021-22 when he played 67 games, 25 starts, averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds.
However, he hasn’t played since the NBA Finals. Brissett, who turned 26 years old in June, declined a $2.5 million dollar player option with Boston at the end of June. He hoped that he could get more by testing the free-agent market. Similarly, the Toronto native dropped out of the Canadian national team, coached by Jordi Fernandez, to focus his free agency. However, offers or at least offers he liked never materialized and he remained a free agent until Friday.
Brissett’s rebounding and size will give Long Island some added depth, and in Long Island’s case, a potential starter. Brissett always intended to pursue a return to the NBA, and his signing with the Long Island Nets is a first step to getting back to that dream.
Brissett also re-unites with Kendall Brown who had been his Indiana Pacers teammate two years ago.
Boston, MA
Magic Look to Bounce Back With More Energy at Celtics
BOSTON – Over two weeks ago, after the Orlando Magic’s latest rally fell short in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, fourth-year guard Jalen Suggs called out a worrying trend among his team in hopes of nipping it in the bud.
“We’re putting ourselves in these holes and spotting teams leads, then having to fight, scratch, claw just to get back in the game and give ourselves a chance,” Suggs said on New Year’s Day.
The Magic had developed a resilience that meant they were never out of games, no matter the score. Complimentary, energy-filled basketball helped Orlando do the fighting, scratching and clawing to get back into those games.
Did it always result in a victory? Not quite. But the relentless attitude and constant effort – especially for a team so handicapped by its shrinking list of healthy players – was commendable, and has been embedded in the Magic’s DNA.
In the rare occasions when it doesn’t show face, though, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley says it’s “glaring.” That was the case when the Milwaukee Bucks delivered a 29-point shellacking to Orlando, marking the most lopsided loss for the Magic this year.
“There was an energy and effort issue,” said Mosley postgame.
Wendell Carter Jr. would later say his team was “out-physicaled” and made life too easy for their opponent.
Then, in the locker room, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope told reporters Orlando got its “a– whooped,” and Paolo Banchero told reporters, “[A]s a group top to bottom, we’ve got to be more ready to play. We’re down a lot of bodies, but we can’t make excuses and we’ve just got to come out and play for each other.”
To Banchero’s point, the Magic’s 124 missed games from players due to injury or illness haven’t been a catch-all, safety-net excuse when the team is struggling. Instead, their aforementioned resilience built an identity that helped them generate results throughout the entire first half of the season, regardless of available contributors.
It justifies Mosley’s claims that the lackluster performance vs. the Bucks “wasn’t Orlando Magic basketball. Not even close.” Because although that was the case in Game 42, through the first 41 games, it wasn’t.
“It’s something that you can learn from, and you have to be able to bounce back, which this group has always done,” Mosley said.
With a national audience watching along, Orlando (0-4 in national TV games this season) pays its only visit to TD Garden Friday evening, squaring off with the defending champion Boston Celtics for the second of three matchups this season. The Magic host the 18-time champs once more in April to close the Kia Center’s regular season slate.
Boston has dropped three of their last five outings, including an uncharacteristic loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Scotiabank Arena. The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum due to a last-minute spat with an illness in the Magic’s Dec. 23 home win, but Orlando was shorthanded as well. Of their top four scorers, only Suggs was available.
“We beat them last time at home, so I’m sure they haven’t forgot that,” Paolo Banchero said in Orlando’s locker room Wednesday. “They have a hell of a home atmosphere [and] home crowd, so they’ll be ready to play in front of their fans.”
Heading into Friday’s tilt, where both teams are eager to wipe the slate clean from their mid-week malaise, Boston reports a clean bill of health. Now, only Banchero is available of the Magic’s top scorers, and other key reserves are unavailable as well.
MORE: Magic-Celtics Injury Report
Those who are available, however, say they shouldn’t have any issue getting back to their standard.
“Playing against teams like this is what hoopers get up for,” Anthony Black said. “Definitely getting up for this game. It’s always fun playing against some good hoopers, so I think we’re up and I think we’ll be ready to bring energy come game time.”
“You don’t like losing games, especially when you get your butt kicked,” Mosley said, “but you also have to know you have to bounce back, can’t hang your head, be ready to go and move on the next game.”
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