Celtics 144, 76ers 106: the rebounding edge held up
Boston outrebounded Philadelphia 63 to 34 with 19 offensive boards. The center race now hinges on something other than rebounding.
Boston beat Philadelphia 144-106 on Saturday at TD Garden, and the rebounding gap was lopsided too. The Celtics outrebounded the 76ers 63 to 34, which answers the question our preview asked about whether the rebounding edge would travel.
What the box score shows
The Celtics grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to Philadelphia's 7, and took 96 shots to the 76ers' 83. They shot 50 of 96 (52%) and made 22 of 48 threes (46%), so this was not a night that depended on rebounding alone. The 13 extra shots came with 16 steals and those 19 offensive boards.
Boston scored 52 points in the paint to Philadelphia's 26 and had 34 fast-break points to 14, per the box score. Philadelphia had 23 total turnovers, including team turnovers.
Payton Pritchard led the way with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting, with five threes, and a plus-35 in 24 minutes. Jayson Tatum had 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Hugo Gonzalez scored 17 on 6-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes. Baylor Scheierman scored only 3 points but had 8 assists and 5 steals in 19 minutes.
The centers
Boston started Paul George, Tatum, Jordan Walsh, Derrick White and Mitchell Robinson, per CelticsBlog. Robinson played 14 minutes with 5 rebounds. Neemias Queta came off the bench for 19 minutes with 10 rebounds and a plus-31. Luka Garza played 11 minutes with 7 rebounds, six of them offensive, and 8 points.
Together the three centers had 22 rebounds in 44 minutes. Our closing center storyline is still open. The rebounding is there from all three, so the separator may be something else. Robinson went 0 for 3 at the line on Saturday after making 40.8% of his free throws in 2025-26.
Availability
Boston's injury feed lists Luka Garza as day-to-day after he went to the locker room late in the fourth quarter with a nose injury, per CLNS Media's Bobby Manning. Devin Carter (illness) and Ron Harper Jr. (shoulder) were ruled out, per Jack Simone of BostonSportsJournal.com. Only one outlet's report is in our feed for each, so treat them as reported, not confirmed.
Our Take
The rebounding edge looks real. Boston outrebounded Philadelphia by 29 and has now won the offensive glass in both preseason games, 21 to 6 in Cleveland and 19 to 7 here. Since the three centers produced 22 boards in 44 minutes, the closing-center choice is unlikely to turn on rebounding. It will turn on what each one costs you in the last five minutes, and for Robinson that is the line. It's two games against preseason lineups, so we'll recheck once the real games start.
Boston hosts Charlotte on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden, then visits Philadelphia on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV. The regular season opens October 20 at Detroit. Preseason numbers do not count in season stats.
Sources: CelticsBlog recap, CelticsBlog starting lineup report, CLNS Media (Manning) and BostonSportsJournal.com (Simone) via the injury feed, box score data via ESPN.