76ers fall to Celtics

PHILADELPHIA — Poor shooting and poor defense once again proved to be too much for the 76ers to overcome Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, where they lost a 109-101 decision to the Boston Celtics.

Boston was led by Avery Bradley’s 22 points. Paul Pierce added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett also finished with 18 points. Boston shot 50.6 percent from the field, making 11 of 19 from behind the three-point line.

The Sixers placed seven players in double figures. Thaddeus Young led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Evan Turner added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Jrue Holiday finished with 18 points and 10 assists.

The loss dropped the Sixers to 23-36. They fell 71/2 games behind idle Milwaukee, the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston (32-27) is seeded seventh.

The Sixers have lost nine of their last 10 games. They will not have much time to recover. On Wednesday in Atlanta, they will play the first of three straight road games. The bad news is that the Sixers have lost their last 10 road games and have not won away from the Wells Fargo Center since they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on New Year’s Day.

The Sixers never led after Boston erased a 17-11 deficit at the start of the game.

Boston connected on 11 of 20 shots in the third quarter and turned a 53-46 halftime lead into a 79-74 advantage. Despite making just 36 percent of their shots in the third period, the Sixers still had a shot entering the fourth.

But the Sixers stayed stuck in neutral at the start of the quarter while Boston got right into a flow. The Celtics outscored the Sixers, 12-2, to start the period. The lead remained mostly in double figures until Turner’s layup with 39.5 seconds to play reduced the Boston lead to 103-95.

While the Sixers have struggled at home and away, they have reached the point in their schedule when winning will be even more difficult.

Of their remaining 21 games, only eight remain at the Wells Fargo Center. After Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, the Sixers will play Friday at Miami, which has won 12 straight regular-season games from the Sixers. They will end the trip at Orlando on Sunday.