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The Sixers will play against the reigning NBA champions Boston Celtics on Christmas Day


The Sixers will play against the reigning NBA champions Boston Celtics on Christmas Day

The 76ers will play against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Christmas Day, a source familiar with the NBA schedule confirmed Thursday evening.

The league is expected to announce the pairings for its annual Christmas showcase in the coming days. The games are usually high-profile pairings.

This is the third consecutive season and 34th time overall that the Sixers have played on Christmas. They have a 19-15 record on Christmas after losing 119-113 to the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center last season.

” READ MORE: How Reggie Jackson, a soldier’s child, prepared him for every role in the Sixers’ crowded backcourt

The Sixers, who finished 47-35 last season, have high expectations after making several new additions during the offseason.

The Celtics have just completed a championship season. Boston, with its core players, especially All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, is the favorite to defend its title.

But the Sixers entered free agency as one of the most interesting teams in the NBA because they had plenty of salary cap space.

Their most significant move of the summer was when Paul George signed a four-year, $212 million deal to form a big three-man team with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but the signing of free agents Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson, along with the re-signing of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry and the max contract extension for Maxey, have made the Sixers one of the teams that can challenge the Celtics.

” READ MORE: Joel Embiid was at his best when the US team needed him most, and he can help the Sixers in the same way.

George, Embiid and Maxey have a chance to become the best Sixers trio since Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Mo Cheeks and Charles Barkley in the 1986-87 season. All three were voted All-Stars that season, marking the last time Philly had three participants in the same All-Star Game.

But the Sixers now have a guard in Maxey, a wing in George and a center in Embiid, all of whom are coming off All-Star seasons, so their chances of overtaking the Celtics as the league’s elite team have improved significantly.

According to an NBA source, the other Christmas games include the New York Knicks vs. the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns vs. the Denver Nuggets.

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