The Sixers sweep Boston

The last two times the Philadelphia 76ers had been in a 2-2 playoff and played Game 5 away, the result was -36 in Toronto in 2019 and -35 in Miami last year. Other than that, the Boston Celtics had eliminated them in 2018 and 2020 without much trouble. With these precedents, last night’s meeting was capital for them, to show that this time they were serious. To prove to himself that they have what it takes to win the ring. And boy did they prove it.

The Sixers have played what is arguably their best playoff game in the Garden in decades, completely shutting down their rival, who is still asking where the opposing rim is. Boston’s 103 points is their lowest score these playoffs. The 39.8% in field goals speaks for itself. Jayson Tatum, top scorer of the game (36) only made 11 of the 27 shots he attempted. He missed 14 straight shots in the first quarter. Al Horford, who this time was widely surpassed by Embiid, made a 0/6 triple in the first half (it would be 0/7 at the end), the worst mark in Celtics history in a half. Not even the wild card that had been this season for them the mark of 60 combined points between Tatum and Jaylen Brown earned them. But it is that since the playoffs began, not even that is working. They have gone from 82.2% winning when their two stars reach that score to 55.5%. 5 wins and 4 losses. And today it was time to lose.

He played defeat because what Philadelphia wanted was played at all times, which this time did find Embiid in advantageous positions. And that this time, when he was not in advantageous positions, he knew how to find them. The Cameroonian remembered a true league MVP scoring 33 points and putting 4 blocks. And although he may have been asked for a little more in previous games, the truth is that he has been three in a row reaching thirty points, his best run in the playoffs and the third best in the franchise. Only Wilt Chamberlain (4 games) and Alen Iverson (5) remain ahead.

Embiid attacked the rim as usual, found his midrange shots that do so much damage to the opponent and, in general, drove a Horford crazy who seemed the shadow of what he usually is when he faces him. Tyrese Maxey was the other cornerstone on which a magnificent victory was built. The small and electric player scored 30 points, with a wonderful 6/12 in triples. And James Harden, hero of the two previous victories in the series, knew how to step aside, let the spotlights point to others. A very intelligent performance by La Barba, who dedicated himself to making the team play, finding his teammates in the best position (10 assists) and scoring a punctual basket (17 goals) in the few moments when the Celtics seemed to be getting up.

The Sixers are one win away from the Eastern Finals, a tie they have not played since 2001. Since that year they have never been as close as they are now. Kawhi Leonard’s famous basket in 2019, in the last second of Game 7 in Toronto, left them without a chance to pass, but this time they came back down 3-2 to Philadelphia to play Game 6. Now they are the ones who are ahead and cannot miss this opportunity. Because they know better than anyone, after five years in a row eliminated in the first round or in the semifinals, how difficult it is to get here. The Celtics, yes, were in the same situation last year with the Bucks and they won the sixth in Milwaukee. So surely a great game awaits us, tomorrow starting at 01:30. A classic of this League.

boston celtics

Statistics

13 malcolm brogdon
7 Jaylen Brown
99 Justin Champagne
91 Blake Griffin
30 sam hauser
42 Al Horford
40 Luke Kornett
57 Mike Muscala
eleven Payton Pritchard
36 Marcus Smart
0 Jason Tatum
9 Derrick White
12 Grant Williams
44 robert williams iii

Statistics

	Min	pts	RT	RO	DR	Ast	Per	rec	Tap	T1	T2	T3	FR	CF	Val
13 malcolm brogdon	25	7	3	0	3	4	0	0	0	0/0	2/7	1/2	0	0	0
7 Jaylen Brown	3. 4	24	6	0	6	2	3	0	0	3/8	6/10	3/6	0	5	0
99 Justin Champagne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
91 Blake Griffin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
30 sam hauser	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/2	0	0	0
42 Al Horford	25	0	5	2	3	4	1	2	1	0/0	0/0	0/7	0	2	0
40 Luke Kornett	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	1	0
57 Mike Muscala	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
eleven Payton Pritchard	9	8	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0/0	1/3	2/2	0	0	0
36 Marcus Smart	33	14	3	1	2	4	2	0	0	8/10	0/2	2/5	0	1	0
0 Jason Tatum	39	36	10	3	7	5	2	2	0	11/13	8/16	3/11	0	2	0
9 Derrick White	33	7	5	2	3	0	0	0	0	3/3	2/4	0/2	0	1	0
12 Grant Williams	8	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/1	0	2	0
44 robert williams iii	18	4	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	23	0/0	0	2	0

Philadelphia 76ers

Statistics

14 Dewayne Dedmont
twenty-one Joel Embiid
1 James Harden
5 Montrezl Harrell
12 Tobias Harris
25 Daniel House Jr.
30 Furkan Korkmaz
0 Tyrese Maxey
7 Jalen McDaniels
8 De’Anthony Melton
18 shake milton
twenty Georges Niang
44 Paul Reed
eleven Jaden Springer
17 PJ Tucker

Statistics

	Min	pts	RT	RO	DR	Ast	Per	rec	Tap	T1	T2	T3	FR	CF	Val
14 Dewayne Dedmont	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
twenty-one Joel Embiid	37	33	7	3	4	3	4	0	4	10/11	7/16	3/7	0	3	0
1 James Harden	39	17	8	0	8	10	2	2	0	8/10	3/6	1/2	0	2	0
5 Montrezl Harrell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
12 Tobias Harris	30	16	eleven	2	9	1	1	0	0	1/2	6/7	1/3	0	5	0
25 Daniel House Jr.	fifteen	10	5	0	5	1	0	0	0	0/0	5/5	0/2	0	3	0
30 Furkan Korkmaz	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
0 Tyrese Maxey	41	30	7	1	6	3	1	0	0	4/4	4/9	6/12	0	2	0
7 Jalen McDaniels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
8 De’Anthony Melton	23	4	4	2	2	1	0	1	1	0/0	23	0/1	0	3	0
18 shake milton	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
twenty Georges Niang	eleven	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	0/0	0	1	0
44 Paul Reed	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0/0	1/1	0/0	0	1	0
eleven Jaden Springer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 PJ Tucker	33	3	7	1	6	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	1/3	0	4	0