Monster effort from Neemias Queta helps pave the way for Celtics in win over 76ers

neemias queta produced the best game of his career Sunday, finishing with 27 points and 17 rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the 76ers 114-98 at TD Garden. The victory was Boston's 11th in 13 games and came as the Celtics surged into second place in the Eastern Conference.

Neemias Queta's breakout night

The 26-year-old center received "MVP" chants several times in the fourth quarter after a performance that helped erase an early 10-point deficit. Queta registered five offensive rebounds in the opening period and led Boston as the team converted 30 second-chance points on the night, well above its 17. 1 per-game average entering the contest.

Mazzulla's summer call

Last summer, after frontcourt changes that followed the departures of Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet, coach Joe Mazzulla called backup big man Neemias Queta and told him he would become the team's starting center. Mazzulla said he relayed the message then because he wanted to give Queta time to process the promotion mentally and start preparing for it physically. When Queta went on to play for Portugal at EuroBasket, his growing responsibilities with the Celtics were on his mind. Queta said, "It was like a big summer for me in terms of fine-tuning a bunch of different stuff. Like, we worked on all types of aspects. "

Dominant second-quarter sequence

Queta's second quarter was especially creative and productive. During one stretch he danced through the lane for a basket, converted a putback, then trailed a fast break, took a pass from Jaylen Brown and converted an acrobatic scoop shot that gave Boston a 40-35 lead. Brown said, "We just gave him the ball and trusted him to make the right decision every time, and he was able to get it going. " Brown also added, "He had some nice up-and-unders in the seam and stuff like that that helped propel us to a win. " Brown finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Brown also warned, "We don't want him to get too carried away with some of those, " reflecting both praise and a coach-like caution.

Opposing efforts and injuries

Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 33 points, but the All-Star guard played 43 minutes and made just 12 of 34 shots. Mazzulla noted, "He didn't have a ton of layups, didn't have a ton of free throws, " and added, "I thought he obviously missed some good shots, but when you have the ball as much as he did, I thought we did a really good job just being disciplined, defending without fouling, keeping him out of transition. " The 76ers were without star center Joel Embiid, who missed the game with an oblique issue.

Standings, roster notes and reactions

The Celtics improved to 40-20 with just 22 games remaining in the regular season. Mazzulla praised Queta's development, saying, "I thought he's had great ownership and responsibility to what it calls for to be a starting center for the Celtics, and he's got to continue to get better. He works at it. He cares. So, it's a credit to him. " The win underscored Queta's emergence this season after the frontcourt overhaul and his transition from a backup role into a starting job.