BOSTON –With their backs against the wall and on the brink of elimination, the Philadelphia 76ers dominated the Boston Celtics down the stretch on Tuesday night, holding Boston to 14 straight missed field goals to close out the game on their way to a 113-97 win over the Celtics to force a Game 6 in Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Sixers received huge contributions up and down the roster.
Quentin Grimes gave the team their first real boost off the bench in the series, dropping 18 points on eight shots, in a game where his defense was perhaps even more impressive than the scoring punch he provided in his 24 minute run off the bench. Paul George set the tone early, firing away from deep while locking down Jaylen Brown in a 19/9/7 outing that showcased his versatility. And Tyrese Maxey dropped 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, commenting after the game that he was “just tired of giving up rebounds, man” when asked about his season-high 10 defensive rebounds.
It was one of the more impressive team wins over a quality opponent that the Sixers have had this year.
But even while acknowledging that, this was, without a shadow of a doubt, the Joel Embiid show.
In just his second game back after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on April 9th, through sheer force of will, Joel Embiid carried the Sixers down the stretch to an improbable win over a tough opponent in a very hostile environment, one that has caused this team, and Embiid specifically, fits in the past.
Embiid finished with 18 points on 7-10 shooting after intermission, playing in 19 of 22 second half minutes before the teams emptied the bench with the game out of hand. Embiid would finish the night with a game-high 33 points and eight assists on 12-23 shooting from the field.
“He was dominant, especially in the second half,” Tyrese Maxey said after the game. “I was proud of him tonight.
“He can be [Shaq]. Or he could be Dirk Nowitzki some days,” Maxey continued. “He’s just a strong individual. He’s skilled too, so that makes it tough.”
Embiid attempted to play more like Dirk than Shaq in the first half, missing all five of his 3-point attempts before intermission. The shot profile, which draws the ire of some Sixers fans from time to time, isn’t without its merit. Embiid’s presence on the perimeter, with his ability to draw his defender away from the rim to create open driving lanes, combined with his screen setting, can really free up Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and the Sixers’ perimeter scorers, and Embiid and Maxey have had their moments as a two-man tandem over the last two games in part because of Embiid’s unique skill set.
But as an individual scorer, Embiid started the game just 1-7 from the field. The Sixers were going to need their star big man to impose his will inside to get them back in the game in the second half.
When Nikola Vucevic checked into the game barely more than two minutes into the third quarter because Neemias Queta picked up his fourth foul, Embiid immediately went to work inside, scoring three quick buckets in the paint in the next four minutes of play, immediately changing the tone of the game.
After seeing the ball go through the hoop, all of a sudden that hang-dribble foul line jumper started going in, too, and Embiid was officially cooking.
“Joel was dominant. He went to the post and he scored, and he scored, and he scored,” Tyrese Maxey joked after the game. “And then he kicked some out and we made some shots, and played a little pick-and-roll down the stretch of the game and got a couple buckets and we closed it out.”
After shooting 6-10 from the field for 13 points when defended by Nikola Vucevic in Game 4, Embiid was even more ruthless against the former Sixers big man last night, scoring 12 points on just six field goal attempts when matched up against Vucevic. So far in this series Embiid has 25 points on 11-16 shooting from the field when Vucevic is his primary defender.
Vuc has absolutely no chance of holding up against Embiid’s physicality. That much is clear.
That puts Boston in a bit of a bind, as they’ve been lightyears better on offense with Vucevic on the floor (123.0 points per 100 possessions) than they have been with Queta (just 110.6 points per 100 possessions), as Vucevic’s floor spacing, screen setting and passing have helped open up driving lanes galore for Boston’s perimeter scorers.
But the Embiid vs Vucevic matchup is easily the most exploitable 1-on-1 matchup, for either team, in this series. Boston’s only counter to that is to throw double teams Embiid’s way. The key from here on out is how well the Sixers punish those rotations.
“We gotta go through Jo in the post because now they’re starting to send people,” Nurse said after the game. “From here on out somebody should get an open look if we make the right decisions.”
Beyond just the overall skill level on display, Tuesday night’s game was yet another showcase of determination from the Sixers’ big man, who is still just 20 days removed from having an emergency appendectomy.