2 Studs (& 1 Dud) From 76ers-Celtics Shootout

Despite late falloff, De'Anthony Melton still played a solid game.

De'Anthony Melton started the game hot, but fell off late when it mattered the most. Although his late misses and mistakes contributed to the Celtics being able to hang on in the end, Melton's efforts early put the Sixers in a position to win the game.

The 21 points from the shooting guard helped offensively. That's all the positive you'll see on the stat line for the night from Melton, but his first half efforts sent the Celtics into the locker room thinking they might be suffering their first home loss of the season. He played 37 minutes and also had 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

What cost Melton and the Sixers in the end was the late misses, the turnovers, and the fouls. Especially late in crunch time,

Melton could not find the bottom of the net and put himself in vulnerable situations that led him to fouling out of the game late. What started so well ended ice cold.

That does not sound like a "stud," I know. But there is a bigger picture if you zoom out a little bit. In a game where Embiid and Maxey, the Sixers two top scorers, were not playing at all, Melton's efforts early in the game kept the Celtics in check and unable to pull away. He contributed to what was almost the win of the year.