Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics extended their winning run to nine games at TD Garden with a 117-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, continuing their dominant play.

With 31 points, Jaylen Brown was the C’s leader. Along with Jayson Tatum (29), and Kristaps Porzingis (23), he was one of three Boston starters who scored in excess of 20 points.

At the half, the Celtics led 53–51, and in the third quarter, they extended their lead to double digits. With 8:09 left in the fourth quarter, the Sixers had cut Boston’s advantage to 91-89 after starting the period with a 14-5 run. This showed some resiliency. The Celtics quickly regained control of the game with a 17-0 run that put a stop to the Sixers’ aspirations of a comeback. Boston defeats Philadelphia 3-1 in the season series as a result.

On Friday night at TD Garden, the Celtics will play again against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Dallas Mavericks.

Here are three things to remember from the Celtics vs. Sixers game before we anticipate that encounter.

On offence, the Jays are unstoppable.

Jaylen Brown, who has been doing so routinely since the All-Star break, got the Celtics going early.

For the past three games, Brown has averaged 19.3 points in the first half. Tuesday night, he scored 18 points in the first half, which enabled the C’s to overcome a lacklustre first two quarters of shooting. Brown was especially useful on the quick break.

After 35 minutes, Brown finished with a team-high 31 points on 11 of 14 shooting, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He also shot 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

After the All-Star break, Brown has not only been scoring a lot (27.3 points per game) but also doing so effectively. Brown is shooting 62 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from 3-point range in the last three games.

With 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum helped the Celtics halt the Sixers’ chance for a comeback.

Although he was only 1 of 7 from 3-point range, he made 10 of his 11 free throw tries. In 35 minutes, Tatum also recorded a team-high eight assists and 11 rebounds.

Celtics find ways to score without 3-pointers

The Celtics average a league-leading 42.6 3-point shots per game. Their attacking identity is that, and it has served them well this season. They entered Tuesday with a 41-3 record this season when shooting above 32 percent from 3-point range.

In addition, the Celtics often falter when they aren’t making 3-pointers. Tuesday’s win was just their fifth when shooting 32 percent or worse from beyond the arc.

The Celtics were 2-of-11 from deep in the first half and finished 5-of-22.

Philly made an effort to take away 3-pointers, so Boston adjusted offensively and dominated inside, earning a 64-42 advantage in points in the paint. Sure, the absence of reigning MVP center Joel Embiid changes how well the Sixers defend in the paint, but you have to give the Celtics credit for their aggressiveness in attacking the basket. They understood the lack of a shot-blocking presence in the Philly defense and didn’t settle for bad 3-pointers.

One good example came in the fourth quarter when Derrick White found Al Horford with a mismatch under the basket. Horford easily scored with Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey — who’s seven inches shorter — unable to contest the shot. Boston stretched its lead to 97-89 as a result.

There will be games during the playoffs when 3-pointers aren’t falling for the Cetlics. If the C’s attack the paint in the same manner they did Tuesday during those games, they’ll avoid some of the offensive issues that have plagued them in recent postseason runs.

C’s maintain wide lead in East standings

The Celtics extended their win streak to nine games, which is the longest active streak in the league. It also ties the longest win streak by any team this season, matching the Orlando Magic. Boston’s last loss was to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.

The C’s are scoring 123.8 points per game during this win streak. They’re also 21-0 at home versus Eastern Conference opponents this season. The Celtics, who own a league-best 46-12 record, are on pace to win 65 games, which they’ve accomplished only three times in their history, most recently in 2007-08 (66 wins).

Boston’s lead atop the Eastern Conference is still 7.5 games over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who defeated the Mavericks on a Max Strus buzzer-beater Tuesday night.