Joel Embiid takes over, leads 76ers from 13 down in Game 5 to extend series vs. Celtics
The season is not over for the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid stepped up for a dominant second half to lead the 76ers to a 113-97 win in Game 5 Tuesday night to extend the series and Philadelphia’s season. The series will extend to Game 6 in Philadelphia Thursday night with Boston holding a 3-2 lead.
The Celtics led by as much as 63-50 in the third quarter and appeared ready to celebrate a series win over the rival 76ers on their home court. But Embiid scored 18 of his game-high 33 points after halftime to lead the rally from the 13-point second-half deficit. The 76ers dominated the fourth quarter and silenced a stunned TD Garden crowd.
Boston waved the white flag with 2:16 remaining and Philadelphia holding a 109-95 lead, sending Jayson Tatum to the bench. The game was just the second of the playoffs for Embiid, who missed Games 1-3 of the series after undergoing an emergency appendectomy late in the regular season. He was rusty in his Game 4 return , shooting 9 of 21 from the floor in a 128-96 Celtics win.
But Embiid was back in All-NBA form Tuesday night despite an 0-for-5 effort from 3. He instead focused on attacking from the paint and taking advantage of double teams as Boston’s defense evolved to focus on him. .
@JoelEmbiid up to 1️⃣3️⃣ points pic. twitter. com/PhNwpY95Hj — Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 29, 2026 Embiid finished with 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 block in addition to his 33 points.