Joel Embiid returns but Boston's Pritchard, Tatum story, Celtics cruise to win, 3-1 series lead
Boston led by 16 after one quarter, and its lead never got down to single digits the rest of the game.
Joel Embiid was back on the court for Philadelphia, returning from an appendectomy less than three weeks ago to give the 76ers a needed bump in a critical first-round game against Boston. Except there was no bump. Kind of the opposite.
Philadelphia's other stars, like Tyrese Maxey, had to adjust to the big man in the paint and seemed to defer to him early on. The result was an offense that just did not work and missed a lot of shots. Meanwhile, Boston just kept doing what they do.
Pritchard scored 32 off the bench and knocked down six 3-pointers, while Jayson Tatum scored 30 with five from beyond the arc, plus he had 11 assists. Boston led by 16 after one quarter, and its lead never touched single digits again as the Celtics cruised to a 129-96 win on the road. The Celtics have a commanding 3-1 series lead as the series shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Tuesday.
The 76ers are unquestionably better when Embiid is on the court, on both ends, but putting a superstar back in the lineup can mean an adjustment period. In this case, the combination of Embiid and the Celtics' defense meant Tyrese Maxey had just three shot attempts in the first half, as he seemed to defer to the big man, who had 10 (and Paul George had seven). The 76ers also just could not buy a bucket in the first half.