Sixers' night starts with James Harden's regrettable suit, ends with regrettable blowout by Celtics

James Harden introduced himself as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. The Sixers then proceeded to show why they need a player like James Harden.

The former Brooklyn Nets star, who joined the Sixers in the blockbuster Ben Simmons swap at the trade deadline, met with the media and addressed a number of elephants in the room, most notably his relationship with the team he more or less forced his way out of.

He started by indicating he never actually wanted to go the Nets in the first place, or at least that he didn't have a choice in the matter last season. He also denied that Kyrie Irving's vaccine situation had a significant impact on him personally, but admitted it did affect the Nets.

With Harden out through at least the All-Star break, there wasn't much left to do for the day, except ring the bell before the team's game against the Boston Celtics and introduce an entire city to his fashion choices.

Ask yourself, can you even call this a jacket?

That would pretty much be the highlight of the night for the Sixers, who proceeded to get blown out of the water by the red-hot Celtics.

The Celtics are on fire

It took a while for the Celtics to get going this season, but they are indisputably clicking right now.

Behind a combined 57 points on 24 shots by stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics beat the Sixers 135-87 to continue a nine-game win streak. Tatum and Brown themselves outscored the Sixers in the first half, the third time they have done so in their last 11 games.

In the Celtics' win streak, they have four wins by more than 30 points. Meanwhile, Sixers star Joel Embiid, who finished with 19 points, delivered his own tribute to Harden.