Jaylen Brown, Celtics Look Forward to Hitting Road vs. Sixers

Being the third seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics had a home-court advantage heading into the Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this week.

Despite having the crowd on their side in Boston on Monday, the Celtics allowed an undermanned Sixers team to enter their house and take a win.

In Game 2, the Celtics bounced back. Entering the matchup with a chip on their shoulder, the Celtics hit the Sixers with a haymaker shot and beat them by over 30 points. Philadelphia felt good about splitting the series, despite losing big on Wednesday.

Now, they look forward to returning home and hosting the Celtics for two games. And according to Boston star Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are looking forward to playing against the crowd over the next two games as well.

“We know going into Philly, hostile environment, but those games should be fun,” Brown said after Game 2. “I think we all need to be excited to embrace that challenge.”

This season, the Celtics paid a visit to the Sixers twice. Once in February and once in April. During the late February matchup, the Celtics engaged in a tight battle with the Sixers, which resulted in a 110-107 upset loss for the home team.

When the two teams met again in early April for a potential playoff preview, Joel Embiid exploded for 52 points, and the Sixers defeated the Celtics 103-101. At the time, Jaylen Brown was out with an injury. This time around, he’s set to play in Philly for the first time since February.

“You got to be worthy of what you say you want to do,” Brown finished. “These are the moments and tests that you got to persevere through. So all of these challenges you can't run from it. You can’t. You got to just accept it head-on, and come out and play Celtic basketball.”

With the series tied 1-1, the Sixers and the Celtics will both search for an opportunity to take the lead before another battle in South Philly over the weekend. The Sixers are fortunate to be back at home for the first time in weeks, but the Celtics are looking forward to potentially stealing home court back.