BOSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers went into the TD Garden, the home of the defending champion Boston Celtics, and walked away with an impressive 118-114 road win. When considering how tough the season has been overall for this group, this is an impressive win.
Tyrese Maxey will get a lot of the headlines, and rightfully so following a 33-point and 12-assist performance, but the Sixers don’t win that game without the night Caleb Martin had.
Martin, a noted Celtics killer, knocked down a career-high seven 3s with four coming in the fourth quarter to go for 23 points. When considering he had only made 18 3s entering the contest on Christmas, it was an impressive importance.
After the game, Martin received a lot of love from his teammates who dropped a nickname for him:
Tyrese Maxey on Martin’s night
“That’s what Caleb does. That’s the undertaker that we know so. So shoutout to Caleb.”
Joel Embiid on Martin
“He’s playing against Boston. He hates them as much as I do. I guess I’ll take it. Nah, but he was great. I like when he’s not thinking. Tonight, he was just not thinking about it. Every time he had the ball, shoot or drive, obviously, he made his shots. We need him to keep doing that and building that confidence.”
Guerschon Yabusele on Martin
“Crazy. I mean, he had a great game. He was super important for us tonight. He got us to keep pushing. Especially, when the game was hard and tough. Him hitting those 3s got us the confidence to be able to manage and get the win.”
Coach Nick Nurse on Martin
“The way they were scheming defensively, they were trying to plug off of him. So you have some really good looks, but again, he’s a capable shooter. Now, that was a special night, and he threw a couple couple of funny ones in. One funny one for sure, but he also—I’ve been saying to you guys, he’s much healthier now than he was two weeks ago. Just feeling that. I mean, first thing he said to me, he was like, ‘Coach, I just feel so much better physically.’ I said, ‘Well, it shows’ and he was battling all night defensively as well. So it was good to see him back playing well.”
KJ Martin on Caleb Martin
