76ers Fail to Sweep Celtics, Take Second-Straight Road Loss in Boston

The 2000-2001 season was the last time the Philadelphia 76ers managed to defeat the Boston Celtics four times in a single season. On Saturday night, the Sixers had the opportunity to accomplish that feat once again nearly two decades later.

Heading into the primetime matchup on the road in Boston, the Sixers had won their previous three matchups with the Celtics. And considering Boston was without their star point guard Kemba Walker due to a knee injury, it seemed as if the Sixers were in great shape to accomplish the sweep.

That's not quite how the night went, though. Once again, the Sixers proved they are a much different team when it comes to playing on the road. Just two nights before Saturday's showdown, Philly took a loss to the Eastern Conference's last-place team, the Atlanta Hawks.

Considering the Sixers' road record this season has been a clear disappointment; nobody was really all that surprised. Frustrated? Yes. But surprised? No. This is who the Sixers are this season. They are An outstanding and competitive team at home, but a middle of the pack team when playing somewhere other than South Philly.

On Saturday night against the Celtics, the Sixers were barley even middle of the pack. As they planned to rely on their star center Joel Embiid offensively, the big man wasn't quite prepared for the challenge of Boston's double-team on him.

Therefore, Embiid struggled mightily as shot 1-11 from the field and turned the ball over four times. Aside from Ben Simmons, the Sixers didn't really have anybody who could efficiently score from their starting lineup.

Both Al Horford and Tobias Harris drained just four shots from the field totaling for 19 points combined. Meanwhile, Shake Milton's long-range shot was nowhere near as sharp as it was the previous game when he notched a career-high of five threes. Instead, on Saturday, Milton went 1-for-4 from deep, picking up only 11 total points. In total, the Sixers failed to drain more than 21-percent of their three-point shots.

All in all, the final score reflects just how bad the Sixers were on both sides of the ball on Saturday night. As they dropped the final game against Boston this season by losing 116-95, the Sixers didn't do themselves any favors as they stay pat in sixth place.

With two-straight losses to kick off the four-game road trip, Philly needs to figure out a way to bounce back with a statement win against the Miami Heat on Monday night. Another loss in the Eastern Conference won't put them in danger of losing the sixth seed right now. However, it would continue just to push them back further and kill any chances of having home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_