Embiid scores 33, 76ers beat Celtics 115-103 for 3-2 lead

BOSTON (AP)— Having silenced the TD Garden crowd and put the defending EasternConference champion Celtics on the brink of a second-round exit,76ers players barely cracked a smile as they walked off thecourt.

“It’s notover. We have to get one more,” Joel Embiid said. “All of us. Wehave to show up.”

They’llsoon get that chance.

Embiidscored 33 points and Philadelphia easily took a 3-2 lead in theEast semifinals, beating Boston 115-103 on Tuesday night.

The 76ersled by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter as home fansbooed the Celtics, and can close out the series and advance to theconference finals when they host Game 6 on Thursday night.Philadelphia hasn’t reached that stage of the playoffs since2001.

“What wedid tonight, it’s easier said than done. But we have to do itagain,” Embiid said.

It was thethird straight 30-point game in the series for the reigning MVP,who used his full array offensive weapons to pick apart the Celticsdefense. He also had seven rebounds, four blocks and three3-pointers.

TyreseMaxeyadded 30 points and six3-pointers. James Harden finished with 17 points, 10 assistsand eight rebounds.

Coach DocRivers likened Harden’s play to that of a catcher in baseballcalling the perfect game, putting his teammates in optimal positionwhile also scoring big buckets in key moments.

Rivers saidit helped his team endure each of Boston’s attempts to get backinto the game.

“You justhave breathe through it and our guys did that,” Rivers said.

JaysonTatum led Boston with 36 points but was just 11 of 27 from thefield. Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points. The Celtics went 12 of38 from the 3-point line.

“I think wejust didn’t have it today,” Tatum said.

If there’sany solace for Boston, it’s that the Celtics survived this exactscenario last year in this round, overcoming a 3-2 deficit todefeat the Milwaukee Bucks.

“If you’renot willing to get dirty, if you’re not willing to pretty muchbleed, if you’re not willing to break something...then youshouldn’t be on that court,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said.“Because that’s what it is. That’s what the playoffs areabout.”

Theprevious two occasions the 76ers were in a second-round series thatwas tied 2-2, they were blown out in Game 5 — a 36-point loss toToronto in 2019 and 35-point loss to Miami last season.

Not thistime.

The 76ersled by as many as 19 points in the third quarter and took an 88-72lead into the fourth.

A quickflurry by the Celtics cut the deficit to 11, but Philadelphiaresponded with a 10-2 run to push it back up to 102-83.

It was105-89 when Brown got free on a fast break and attempted to drop ina layup. But Embiid, who stayed in pursuit, was theretoswat it away.

Philadelphia made a concerted effort to get the ball to Embiid inthe post from the outset. He was able to knock down midrangejumpers, helping to open the floor for his teammates as Boston’sbig men were pulled out of the paint.

Meanwhile,the Celtics struggled to find their shot throughout.

The 76ersenjoyed an early rebounding advantage and had success with Embiidrunning pick-and-roll sets at Al Horford. It led to scoringopportunities for Embiid and contributed to Philadelphia building a15-point lead in the first half.

Tatummissed his first six attempts before hitting a runner with 5:48left in the second quarter. He finished the first half with 15points but was just 3 of 11 from the field (1 of 6 from 3-pointrange).

Bostoneventually cobbled together a 10-0 run to cut into the deficit, butPhiladelphia settled down and went into halftime with a 58-49lead.

Harden saidthe Sixers’ mindset heading back home with a chance to closeout theseries is clear.

“Don’tthink too much of it, just go out there and play our brand ofbasketball,” he said.

TIP-INS

76ers:Embiid had 21 first-half points, going 9 for 9 from the free throwline.

Celtics:Their 103 points were their fewest of this postseason. … Bostonshot 5 of 19 from beyond the arc in the opening 24 minutes.

STREAKING

Embiid’sthree consecutive 30-point games is tied for his longest streakwithin a postseason in his career. The only other players infranchise history with longer streaks are Allen Iverson (five in2001) and Wilt Chamberlain (four in 1965).