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

neemias queta delivered the best game of his career Sunday night, scoring 27 points and grabbing 17 rebounds to help Boston to a 114-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. The 26-year-old center’s performance came amid a summer promotion to the starting lineup and a prep period that included EuroBasket and offseason knee surgery.

Neemias Queta's breakout night

Queta finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds, drew multiple "MVP" chants in the fourth quarter, and was credited with 10 offensive rebounds in the game. He shot 10-for-14 from the field, logged 27 minutes, and added 3 blocked shots. Early in the game he registered five offensive rebounds in the opening period, then showcased unusual offensive creativity in a dominant second quarter: he danced through the lane for a basket, converted a putback, trailed a fast break, took a pass from Jaylen Brown and converted an acrobatic scoop shot that gave Boston a 40-35 lead.

Coach and player reactions

Joe Mazzulla said he had told Queta last summer that he would be the team’s starting center so Queta could prepare: "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, " Mazzulla said. "He works at it. He cares. So, it’s a credit to him. " Queta reflected on his offseason work and international experience: "Playing for Portugal was huge for me this summer, " he said. "It allowed me to get a lot of rhythm, allowed me to get a lot of confidence, too. And just from that point on, it was just like a building stage. We worked a lot during the summer, pre- and post-surgery. It was a big summer for me in terms of fine-tuning a bunch of different stuff. We worked on all types of aspects — rebounding, pick-and-roll defense, we worked on match-up recognition. It was a big summer for me. " He also said earlier, "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. "

Brown and team contributions

Jaylen Brown supplied a complementary night with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, and explained how Boston leaned on Queta: "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 said. Mazzulla noted how the Celtics defended Tyrese Maxey: "He didn’t have a ton of layups, didn’t have a ton of free throws, " Mazzulla said of Maxey. "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. "

Sixers' rebounding problems

Philadelphia was outrebounded 59-37 and gave up many second-chance points; Boston entered the night averaging 17. 1 second-chance points per game and poured in 30 on Sunday. Sixers center Andre Drummond described the frustration: "It’s frustrating, because we had a chance to win that game multiple times, " Drummond said. "We gave up too many offensive rebounds. That hurt us. It was like we would go and get a rebound, and it would bounce right out of our reach. We just didn’t rebound the ball well enough. " The Sixers’ inability to secure loose balls, the frequency of offensive rebounds for Boston and missed open shots were all cited as key reasons for the loss.

Embiid out, season context

Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid, who missed the game with a strained oblique suffered on Thursday night against the Miami Heat. That absence narrowed the Sixers’ margin for error as they fight to remain in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, the final place that guarantees a playoff berth. The Celtics improved to 40-20, their 11th win in 13 games, with just 22 games remaining in the regular season.