Joel Embiid’s chase down block of Jaylen Brown with the Philadelphia 76ers up 104-89 halfway through the fourth quarter Tuesday evening was indicative of what we saw in Boston.
With this Eastern Conference Semifinals series tied at two heading into Game 5, most figured the Boston Celtics would maintain homecourt and take a 3-2 lead.
As Philadelphia continued to dominate throughout Game 5, fans inside TD Garden started booing the home team. The scene was nearly as ugly as the performance from the defending Eastern Conference champions in what ended up being a 115-103 loss.
Embiid dropped 33 points on 10-of-23 shooting for his third consecutive 30-point game after returning from a knee injury earlier in the series. Fresh off his second 40-point game of the series, James Harden started things out in strong fashion with eight points in the first quarter alone.
A lot of the talk about the Philadelphia 76ers if they do in fact advance to the Eastern Conference Finals will surround Embiid and Harden.
But as we saw from Tyrese Maxey as he hit a three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining to put Philly up by 21, others stepped up for the 76ers in this one. Maxey dropped 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including 6-of-12 from distance. He also sent Celtics fans to the exits with that dagger three:
The 76ers were a whopping plus-17 in his 41 minutes of action. He was simply awesome Tuesday night.
After struggles over the past two games (8.0 PPG, 6-of-16 shooting), Tobias Harris provided that fourth scoring option for Philadelphia. The veteran forward was an efficient 7-of-10 from the field while finishing plus-15 in 28 minutes of action.
For Philadelphia, it was all about a brilliant overall performance on both ends of the court as the team took a 3-2 series lead. The team certainly paid attention to what the reigning NBA MVP had to say earlier in the series.
“I think players have to show up. I gotta do my job, all the guys, everybody knows their role, they have to do their job,” Embiid said before Game 4. “They have to show up. Obviously, you can’t make any adjustments you want. If the players don’t execute and we don’t make shots, that’s on us. I gotta be better, we gotta be better, we just haven’t been good enough.”
Philadelphia 76ers finally ring the ball in the playoffs
Obviously, a lot has been made about Philadelphia’s recent postseason struggles. The team has not advanced to the conference finals since all the way back in 2000-01. It last defeated the Boston Celtics in the postseason back in 1982.
Even with the regular-season success he’s had in Philadelphia, Doc Rivers was firmly on the hot seat heading into this matchup. Rivers needs a deep play run in order for his job to be considered safe. The longtime head coach also knew how important Game 5 was going to be heading in.
“They’re huge. Game 3, Game 5, Game 7. They’re huge games. They always are,” Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said ahead of Game 5. “”So it’s just a big game, but it’s a big game for both teams. It’s not bigger for one team or the other. It’s just a big game for both teams.”
About that? Philadelphia shot 51% from the field, including 40% from distance. It put up 20 assists compared to just nine turnovers in scoring 115 points against one of the better defensive teams in the Association.
This now sets the stage for one of the Philadelphia 76ers’ biggest home games in years Thursday night. A win here would send the team to the Eastern Conference Finals while pulling the monkey off its back and slapping the thing to the ground.
Pressure now on the Boston Celtics heading into Game 6
On the other hand, Boston needs to win consecutive games if it wants to have a chance to repeat as conference champions. Tuesday’s ugly performance in front of a frustrated home crowd added another layer to this.
Despite scoring 36 points, Jayson Tatum was an inefficient 11-of-27 shooting. He also finished minus-26 in 40 minutes of action.
Having shown his own frustration in playing second-fiddle to Tatum, Jaylen Brown was a much better 9-of-16 from the field. Though, his lack of shot attempts as the game drew on could end up being a major backstory heading into Game 6. What Brown had to say after Boston’s Game 4 loss in Philadelphia adds another layer to this.
All of this will lead to a ton of pressure being placed on first-year head coach Joe Mazzulla in Boston moving forward to Game 6 on Thursday.
“Joe has far more pressure than I did my first year in the playoffs. He’s doing a fantastic job. He’s taking a team that went to the Finals last year. … He’s going to be the guy, just like me and just like all of us coaches, that you look at when anything goes wrong. And Joe’s never experienced that, but that’s just the way it is.”
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers on Joe Mazzulla ahead of Game 5
This pressure is now two-fold with the Boston Celtics facing elimination and a potential premature playoff exit after being two wins from the NBA title less than a calendar year ago.