Celtics blown lead to Jazz, plus another Embiid-fueled 76ers win, drops Celtics to third in East

The Boston Celtics led by 19 in the first half in Utah. They led by four with 1:19 remaining. But the Celtics have been playing like a team lately that’s comfortable – plus they concede Robert Williams III – and that led to another loss, this time 119-118 to the Jazz on the road.

It happened dramatically when Grant Williams – who was hot and made seven three-pointers in the game – interrupted the game designed to pass dribbling Jason Tatum and walked up to the ring, only to be rejected by a rookie Walker Kessler.

Despite the loss, the Celtics advanced to the playoffs, losing to the Heat against the Bulls. Utah Lauri Markkanen was hot and led all scorers with 28 points.

Earlier in the day, the 76ers had little trouble with the Pacers and took their eighth straight win and Joel Embiid scored 31 points, his ninth consecutive game with 30+ points as he makes the MVP spurt.

Sixers win and Celtics lose Philadelphia is ahead of Boston in percentage terms and is second in the East..

The Celtics and 76ers are destined to finish second and third seed in the East, clashing in the second round (barring any first-round losses). Seeding in this series matters mainly for the home court, and it could affect what will be a physically, intense match that will likely last at least six games.

Meanwhile, the Bucks are in first place with two games to spare and would like to see the Celtics and 76ers beat each other in the second round before they have to face either of them.

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The Celtics lost ground to the Jazz, and another 66ers win at Embiida dropped the Celtics to third in the East. originally appeared on NBCSports.com