The visiting Philadelphia 76ers claimed a tough win over the Boston Celtics 115-109 on Thursday, putting an end to the winning streak of the home team at the TD Garden. Joel Embiid, who has been under a lot of criticism recently for lack of dominance as a center, gave his response with actions by dropping 38 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.

After Philadelphia's win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, two NBA Hall of Famers, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, fired at Embiid.

"He's the toughest player in the league to match up with. But we don't talk about him the way we talk about Luka (Doncic), Giannis (Antetokounmpo), Anthony Davis, James (Harden). We don't ever say that about him," said Barkley on Inside the NBA.

"We're telling you, 'You can be great. You ain't playing hard enough.' Twenty-two (points) ain't enough to get you to the next level. Do you want to be great, or do you want to be good? If you want to be good, keep making 22 points. You want to be great, give me 28, give me 30. You want to be great, watch Giannis; he wants to be great," said O'Neal.

Embiid responded to the two veterans' criticism before the game against the Celtics: "Maybe they're right. Maybe. I do think they're right. I think I need to be more aggressive and just look to impose myself and look to dominate…I think the whole season I haven't done that, and you can see the way it has affected my efficiency and my stats."

Embiid's real response was on the court. Neither Enes Kanter nor Daniel Theis could stop him from having his own way under the rim. Embiid could post up, dunk, hook, earn fouls and even shoot from middles range and the 3-point line to score. He put down 16 points in the last quarter and kept the 76ers' lead until the end of the game.

The other hero of Philadelphia on Thursday was Tobias Harris. The 27-year-old forward did what the team wanted in him the whole time: to find a mismatch in offense and score in every way possible. Facing Boston's squad made up of swingmen, Harris took full advantage of his size and smart combination of dribble and off-ball attacks to claim 23 points.

Though they were clearly vulnerable from the inside, the Celtics managed to keep a close game until the last 30 seconds. Though they could not stop Embiid defensively, Kemba Walker using teammates' screen to shoot outside Embiid's reach, also made the 2.16-meter giant very uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, lack of strength finally caught the Celtics, which were playing their second back-to-back game in the second half. As a result, the whole team missed a lot of open shots, watching the 76ers get close and eventually gain the lead. Fortunately, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward kept the game within reach via multiple magical 3-pointers.

It was a failed bet and an impressive block that decided the result of the game in the end. When Boston trailed by two points (108-106) in the last 40 seconds, coach Brad Stevens asked Hayward to foul on Bn Simmons, whose free throw rate this season is only 58.1 percent. However, Simmons made both shots from the line. Twenty seconds later, Boston trailed by four points (113-109), and Theis' attempt to dunk was denied by Embiid, putting an end to Boston's last efforts.

Mexico City meets 'Luka Magic'

The Dallas Maverick and the Detroit Pistons played the first of the 2019 NBA Mexico City Games on Thursday. The Mavericks took the win by beating the Pistons 122-111 thanks to another magical night of Luka Doncic, who put down 41 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.

This was the first triple-double in the history of the NBA Mexico City Games and the highest points in one single game. It was also the 20th straight 20+5+5 game by Doncic, the second-most in NBA history, only after Oscar Robertson. Moreover, Doncic also surpassed Magic Johnson and Lebron James to score seven triple-doubles on the road before turning 22 – in fact, he's only 20 years old.

As the better team in this game, the Mavericks overwhelmed the Pistons from the beginning thanks to the boiling shooting of Doncic and Seth Curry, who together got 46 points in the first half. Doncic continued to lead another 25-8 run in the third quarter, extending the lead to 24 points (90-66) before resting on the bench.

Nonetheless, Derrick Rose, former 2011 NBA MVP, stood out for Piston. He buried four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in Q3 alone, helping his team narrow the game down to 95-85 before the last quarter.

When Doncic came back in Q4, Dallas again turned on crashing mode and again established a 16-point lead (111-96) when there were less than five minutes left. In the end, Dallas left Mexico City with a victory.

Other games on Thursday included (home teams in bold):

Cleveland Cavaliers 117-109 San Antonio Spurs

Portland Trail Blazers 99-114 Denver Nuggets