By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It was a good night in Boston for the Sixers (21-20), as they came away with a big 89-80 victory over the Celtics (34-12) on Thursday night.
It was yet another primetime matchup for the two teams, but it was a big advantage for the Sixers with the absence of Celtics' guard Kyrie Irving.
The Celtics just didn't look like the Eastern Conference's best team without Kyrie on the floor, in fact, at times they struggled to do anything offensively.
Both teams had a serious problem all game long with turning over the ball, and that honestly was the reason for coming out on top for the Sixers. That, and that certain players stepped up at the right time.
The Sixers have now played in two straight season finales this week, with them coming out on top in possible season series sweeps. They won their first and final game over the Raptors on Monday and tonight's victory over Boston.
Newly minted as an NBA All-Star starter before the game, Joel Embiid put on a show proving to everyone that they voted for the right individual.
Embiid shot the lights out, 10-of-19 from the field, and finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal. It was Embiid's 19th double-double of the season, leading the Sixers and is one of the NBA's leaders in that category as well.
With 12 points and 12 rebounds thus far tonight, @sixers C @JoelEmbiid has his team-leading 19th double-double.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) January 19, 2018
But Embiid also kept his insane 20-point game season alive, with yet another one of those such games.
.@sixers C @JoelEmbiid has his team-leading 24th 20-point game tonight.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) January 19, 2018
Embiid was also a +10 on the floor for the Sixers, tied with Trevor Booker during the contest.
The Sixers are obviously missing JJ Redick and the type of game he brings nightly. The outside shooting just isn't as effective without him, and the team also visibly lacks leadership at times.
But Dario Saric stepped up in his absence, especially with the 3-ball going strong. Saric took a higher volume of threes on Thursday (5) and sunk two of them. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
But the bench stepped up scoring 30 of the Sixers' total 89 points. TJ McConnell was the best option of the night, and has been the Sixers' best option all week long. Coming off a career-high 18 points in the Sixers' victory over the Raptors on Monday, TJ put up 15 points, with three steals, and two assists. He went 5-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from three.
That's just not something you see everyday, especially for McConnell.
The biggest story of the game for both teams was the turnover factor. Both teams had difficulties handling the ball and a lot of those mistakes proved to be costly in situations where points mattered.
The Sixers had 22 turnovers as a team, while the Celtics committed 19. McConnell and Embiid led the Sixers' with four turnovers apiece.
The Celtics had trouble scoring the ball, and for good reason, as Kyrie Irving missed the game with a shoulder injury. That just didn't help much for Boston able to get the ball in the hoop.
No Boston player was able to eclipse 15 points, although five players finished in double-digit points. Al Horford and Marcus Morris had a team-high 14 points, while Jayson Tatum (4-of-11) and Jaylen Brown (4-of-12) struggled shooting the ball.
The good news, for the Sixers, is that they didn't blow the lead at the end like they are so accustomed to, as the Celtics never really had a chance towards the end to take the game away. The Sixers did enough right at the end to make sure the win was theirs and that Boston had no chance to get a last-second comeback going.
A win against a 34-win Celtics team to close out the season series is huge, but doing it without Kyrie Irving in the lineup is almost like a gimme-win for the Sixers. It doesn't really prove a lot besides going into the TD Garden and winning, something that had been a while since the last time that happened.
.@sixers earn first road victory @celtics since April 4, 2014, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
Philadelphia has defeated division rivals Toronto and Boston in consecutive games.— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) January 19, 2018
The Sixers are now a game over .500 for the first time in five weeks, and if they keep it up, there's always that chance that they could meet the Celtics again in the playoffs.
