Sixers Creep Up On Second Seed as Celtics Lose vs. Rockets

The second seed is within reach for the Sixers and the Celtics continuing sliding with a loss to the Rockets.

The Philadelphia 76ers have held the Eastern Conference’s third seed for quite some time, but the second seed is now within reach. 

With the Boston Celtics struggling a bit as of late, the surging Sixers are just one game behind the Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

On Tuesday night, the Celtics paid a visit to the rebuilding Houston Rockets. On a two-game win streak after climbing out of a three-game slump, the Celtics looked to pick up their third-straight victory over the Rockets.

However, Houston had different plans. A solid all-around team effort spoiled Jaylen Brown’s 43-point night. The Rockets put away the visiting Celtics with a 111-109 victory.

With that loss, the Celtics drop to 47-22 on the year. The Sixers, who hold a 45-22 record, trail one game behind them as they head into their tough Wednesday night matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Over the last ten games, the Sixers have won seven of their matchups. Currently, they are on a five-game win streak, which is the longest active win streak in the NBA right now.

The top of the Eastern Conference is tight, and the second seed is very much a reality for the 76ers. 

While they won’t hold any tiebreakers over the Celtics if it comes down to that, considering Boston defeated Philly in three games already, maintaining their hot streak could put Philly in an ideal situation where they face one of the Play-In teams to begin their postseason run.

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