BOSTON — Myles Powell was on a layover in Dallas on his way to the G League showcase in Las Vegas when his agent FaceTimed to tell him he’d be signing with the Philadelphia 76ers as an emergency COVID-19 fill-in.
Two days later, he was in Boston making his NBA debut.
“These last 72 hours have been a dream come true,” he said after the Sixers beat Boston 108-103 on Monday night. “I just watched Joel Embiid go out and get 40 and 10. For me, being a rookie in this league and being able to watch that, that’s something I’ll never, ever forget.”
Embiid scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three jumpers in the final minutes and three free throws in the last four seconds to ice it. He also played more than 40 minutes — a season high for a game that didn’t go into overtime — and Philadelphia’s bench contributed just one point as both teams struggled to find healthy players amid the NBA’s spreading COVID-19 outbreak.
Seth Curry added 26 points for the Sixers, whose game against New Orleans on Sunday was postponed because they couldn’t dress eight healthy bodies. They had three players in the COVID-19 protocol and Boston had seven.
To fill out the roster, the Celtics signed 15-year NBA veteran C.J. Miles, who hadn’t appeared in a game in more than two years, to a 10-day contract.
“We rolled up today with the cases spreading the way they are, they might not have enough guys to go,” said Sixers forward Tobias Harris, who had 25 points in a (non-overtime) high of 41:22. “That’s the nature of the business in the NBA right now until everybody gets out of safety protocols.”
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Jayson Tatum had 17 and Enes Kanter Freedom had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who trailed the entire first half but took an 80-75 lead into the fourth quarter. Boston went ahead 97-90 on Brown’s 3-pointer with 4:14 left, but Matisse Thybulle hit a 3-pointer and then Embiid made a pair of foul shots.
Boston led 98-96 when Danny Green made a 3-pointer, and then Embiid made three straight mid-range jumpers to hold the Celtics at bay.
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE
The game was delayed for seven minutes after the national anthem and before the introduction of the Celtics players when a fire alarm went off in the building, accompanied by an announcement telling the crowd it may need to evacuate. After a few minutes of people nervously looking around, the Celtics mascot began waving his arms to pump up the fans; the pregame festivities resumed soon after.
A TD Garden spokesman said the problem was a malfunctioning sprinkler head in a concession area in the balcony level and set off a fire alarm. Building operations coordinated with the Boston Fire Department before giving the all-clear.
IN AND OUT
The Celtics’ pregame injury list required a three-tweet thread to list everyone, with Al Horford, Jabari Parker, Josh Richardson, Brodric Thomas, Grant Williams, Juancho Hernangomez and Sam Hauser all in the COVID-19 protocol. Robert Williams III was also listed as out for personal reasons.
Tatum (ankle), Romeo Langford (neck) and Dennis Schroder (non-COVID illness) were questionable but cleared to play.
The Sixers were without Andre Drummond, Shake Milton and Georges Niang because of COVID protocols, along with Tyrese Maxey (thigh bruise), Furkan Korkmaz (non-COVID illness), Jaden Springer (concussion protocol) and Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played all year while awaiting a possible trade.
THROWBACK
The Celtics celebrated ’60’s night, looking back on the decade when they won 9 NBA titles — going through the Philadelphia Warriors twice and the 76ers four times. (The Sixers were the only team to beat them, in the 1967 Eastern Division finals.
Satch Sanders, Mal Graham and Rick Weitzman were honored on the court, and ’60’s music was played throughout the night.
UP NEXT
Sixers: Host Atlanta on Thursday.
Celtics: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
WARRIORS 113, KINGS 98
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry scored 30 points as the Warriors celebrated him for the 3-point record in his first home game since breaking Ray Allen’s mark, and Golden State held off Sacramento in a matchup of short-handed rivals.
Curry received a video tribute in the first quarter with highlights of the two-time MVP setting the record during the Warriors’ 105-96 victory over the Knicks last Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. He passed Allen’s 2,973 3s that were tops for 10 years.
Draymond Green notched his franchise-leading 31st career triple-double and first this season with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on a night his son, Draymond Jr., was just as big of a star working as a towel and equipment kid.
Tyrese Haliburton had 24 points and 11 assists to lead Sacramento, which was down six players plus interim head coach Alvin Gentry. Assistant Doug Christie stepped in as acting coach.
THUNDER 102, GRIZZLIES 99
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points, Josh Giddey added 19 points and 11 assists, and Oklahoma City beat Ja Morant and Memphis.
Morant returned from injury and the league’s COVID-19 protocols after a 12-game absence and finished with 16 points. Desmond Bane led Memphis with 25 points and Dillon Brooks scored 19.
The Thunder overcame an 89-84 deficit in the final 4:36 and took the lead for good at 96-95 on Giddey’s layup with 50 seconds remaining.
The last time these teams met, the Grizzlies set an NBA record for margin of victory in a 152-79 thrashing.
BULLS 133, ROCKETS 118
CHICAGO — DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and Chicago beat Houston.
DeRozan, who scored 38 points in Sunday’s win over the Lakers after missing three games due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, received help from five teammates who scored in double figures.
The Bulls never trailed and led by 25 points during the first half. They have won two consecutive games and six of their last eight.
Christian Wood had 23 points and 11 rebounds, but the Rockets lost for the fifth time in seven games. Jae’Sean Tate added 16 points.
JAZZ 112, HORNETS 102
SALT LAKE CITY — Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 21 rebounds to lead Utah over Charlotte.
Bojan Bogandovic added 23 points for the Jazz, who blew a 22-point lead but finished strong to snap a two-game home losing streak. Donovan Mitchell chipped in 21.
LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with 21 points and 11 assists before fouling out in the final minute. Miles Bridges added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Terry Rozier chipped in 20 points but the Hornets could not fully overcome another dismal start and dropped their third straight on the road.