With 11 games left in the regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers can slice their Atlantic Division deficit in half on Sunday with a win over the division-leading Celtics in Boston.
It could come down to a battle of the benches.
Philadelphia’s leading scorer, Lou Williams (15.3 ppg), comes off the bench every game; and Saturday the Sixers were paced by Thaddeus Young’s 20 points, also off the pine.
The only difference: it paid off for the Celtics and not the Sixers.
Allen, replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Avery Bradley, provided the offensive spark when both Brandon Bass (0-6, 2 points) and Kevin Garnett (6-15, 15 points) threw up duds, helping Boston to an 86-72 win over Indiana.
Rajon Rondo continued his double-digit assist barrage with 12, extending his streak to 16 straight games. 
Rookie Greg Steimsma had another strong game going 4-4 with 6 blocks, 5 of which came in the second quarter.
For Philadelphia, Williams and Young’s play were not enough to overcome the anemic output from the starting five.
Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday, Spencer Hawes, Elton Brand and Andre Iguadola combined to shoot 13-44 in Saturday’s 88-82 loss to Orlando, with no starter scoring more than 7 points.
Head coach Doug Collins has had enough during the Sixers last 13 games, of which they’ve won just four, threatening to overhaul the starting lineup if they continue to struggle.
If Collins’ threat to start a new rotation doesn’t motivate Philadelphia, this should: a loss Sunday at Boston coupled with a win by the Knicks would put the Sixers in a tie with New York for eight in the East – just half a game ahead of ninth-placed Milwaukee.