Celtics Hit Skid as Sixers Approach Eastern Conference Top Seed

The Philadelphia 76ers are creeping up on the Eastern Conference’s top seed. Throughout the season, the Boston Celtics have been in total control. As they look to defend their Conference title, the Celtics haven’t shown any signs of taking a step back.

But recently, the Celtics have hit a minor snag. Going into their Thursday night matchup against the New York Knicks, the Celtics were in the midst of a two-game losing streak. After engaging in a tight battle with the Knicks, both teams couldn’t make it out of regulation with a winner.

After going into overtime with New York, the Celtics were outscored 10-7 in the extra period. Issued with a 120-117 loss, the Celtics came up short of the Knicks. With that, the Celtics are on a three-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, the Sixers are red-hot at the moment. As they found tons of success on their West Coast road trip, the Sixers surpassed the Brooklyn Nets to take on the East’s third seed. Not long after, the Sixers managed to get out in front of the Milwaukee Bucks to take on the second seed.

Heading into their Wednesday night matchup against the Nets, the Sixers understood that a loss would form a three-way tie for the second seed. A win, however, would allow them to maintain sole possession of second place.

A 137-133 victory for Philadelphia allowed the Sixers to pick up their sixth-straight win and pushed the Nets back another game while keeping the second seed in their possession.

Currently, the Sixers sit 2.5 games back from the Celtics with a 31-16 record. Philadelphia will face the Denver Nuggets on Saturday with a chance to snag their 32nd win of the year, which would become their seventh victory in a row.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.