PHILADELPHIA — As the tension of the game goes up, Isaiah Thomas calms down.

Thomas scored 12 straight Celtics points late in the fourth quarter Saturday night and tied his season high with 37 points to lead Boston to a 107-106 victory against the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers.

Tyler Zeller, center, of the Celtics battles for a rebound with Philadelphia's Jahlil Okafor, left, and Dario Saric during the first half of Saturday's game in Philadelphia. (Associated Press/Matt Slocum)

Avery Bradley added 20 points for Boston, which won its ninth straight game against the 76ers.

“I just love the fourth quarter,” Thomas said. “Some guys get a little tight, a little timid. I embrace it. I want to be great. I want to be somebody my teammates can call on when the game is close.”

The Celtics certainly know they can go to Thomas. He entered ninth in the NBA in scoring (25.7 ppg) and has five games of 30 or more points.

“We’re a little bit like, ‘That’s Isaiah,’ ” Coach Brad Stevens said. “But he has a special ability to score the ball. My advice to anybody is buy League Pass and watch him as much as (you) can because he’s a fun guy to watch.”

Rookie Dario Saric tied his career high with 21 points while adding 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which dressed just 10 players. The 76ers lost their sixth straight.

Joel Embiid, who leads the 76ers in scoring (18.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg), missed his seventh game as part of the team’s rehab plan to not play him on consecutive nights after he sat out the last two seasons because of a foot injury.

Thomas scored six straight points to make it 98-91 with 3:05 left. The 76ers scored seven of the next nine to pull within 100-98 with just over a minute left. Thomas’ driving attempt was blocked by Jahlil Okafor, and then Saric made it 100-100 with 34 seconds left on a layup that just beat the shot clock.

After a timeout, Thomas blew by two defenders for an easy layup that put the Celtics up 102-100 with 30.2 seconds left.

“That’s what you see with All-Star point guards,” Philadelphia Coach Brett Brown said. “He’s hard to guard.”

Hollis Thompson missed on a drive on Philadelphia’s ensuing possession. The Celtics got the rebound and Bradley made 1 of 2 free throws with 16 seconds left for a 103-100 lead. Saric’s tying 3-point attempt fell short, and Marcus Smart made a pair of free throws on the other end.

This was the first of four meetings between the teams. Boston will host the next two games, on Jan. 6 and Feb. 15, before returning to Philadelphia on March 19.

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