Ben Simmons has shrugged off recent poor form to record a double-double as Philadelphia 76ers staved off elimination from the NBA playoffs with a 103-92 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The 76ers faced being swept by Boston but with the Philadelphia crowd behind them on Monday they earned their first win in the series.
Giant: Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons reacts after scoring against the Boston Celtics.
Photo: Matt Slocum
The 76ers still face an ominous fight for survival with no team having come back from being down 0-3 in the NBA post-season.
The Celtics lead 3-1 and need just one more win in the best-of-seven series to progress to the eastern conference finals.
Game five is in Boston on Wednesday (AEST).
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Simmons was determined to play more aggressively and take open shots but it backfired early with the Melbourne-born 21-year-old missing five of his first six field goals.
He was not deterred and midway through the second quarter found range and ended the game with 19 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Simmons did frustrate his coach Brett Brown with reckless passes leading to turnovers in the final quarter, as his team attempted to preserve their sizeable lead.
The Celtics' Australian centre Aron Baynes had another strong game, battling with 76ers' All-Star Joel Embiid, with nine points and six rebounds.
Baynes hit two three-pointers, although he missed four others including an air ball.
Brown had success shaking up his starting lineup, replacing forward Robert Covington with back-up point guard TJ McConnell.
McConnell took some of the ball handling pressure off Simmons and made inspirational plays with a career-high 19 points.
Sixers forward Dario Saric led all scorers with 25 points and Embiid had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum had 20 points for Boston while Al Horford contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for his own double-double.
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