With both teams headed straight for the lottery this summer, a match-up between the Boston Celtics (25-55) and Philadelphia 76ers (17-63) at this point in the year isn't exactly a can't-miss tilt. However, it did provide us with a solid look at the future of the Atlantic Division as both sides got some great performances out of their youngsters.
For Boston, Kelly Olynyk continued his hot play from Saturday night, pouring in a career-high 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds in over 30 minutes of play.
KO relentlessly attacked the basket, often recognizing mismatches, putting his head down and taking it strong to the rack off the dribble. He also wasn't hesitant to mix it up down low whenever a shot came off the rim and even when he wasn't the one coming down with the miss, he was giving his teammates the opportunity to grab easy boards.
On the Sixers' side of things, Michael Carter-Williams played one of the better games I've seen from him this year. His jumper was spot on for most of the game, whether it was coming via the spot-up or off the dribble. MCW also spent his fair share of time patrolling the glass, finishing with 14 rebounds of his own.
In addition to his dominance on the boards, MCW would go on to finish with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and notched six assists and four steals just for good measure.
Each side got some big performances from other guys on their roster as well - Green 27 points, Bradley 23, Rondo eight points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists; Wroten 19 points, Young 15 points, 7 rebounds - but it was all about the 2013 lottery picks tonight.
Unfortunately, the Celtics came up short in this one, 113-108 after Chris Johnson's potential game-tying three was waved off due to his right foot being out of bounds when he caught the ball.
The Celtics will return home for their season finale against Washington this Friday night.