It’s now a best-of-three series between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics who meet Tuesday night in Game 5 of their NBA playoff series. James Harden and Joel Embiid combined for 76 points in the victory and will need more of the same production if Philly is too pull off the upset.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden where BetOnline has the Celtics listed at -8/-110. The total is 214/-110. Boston is still a hefty -310 to win the series and -190 to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals.
Philadelphia 76ers (60-30, 2-2)
The 76ers evened the series 2-2 with a 116-115 victory in overtime on Sunday in Philadelphia. Harden scored a game-high 42 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.0 seconds left in overtime. He also made a jump shot that tied the game with 16.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
James Harden in the clutch’s hits a go ahead 3 🔥to help the Sixers beat the Celtics in game 4 pic.twitter.com/emBEt3aAzl
— hoopsallin (@hoopsallin_) May 8, 2023
Harden poured in 45 points during Philadelphia’s 119-115 victory in Game 1 — when a sprained knee prevented Embiid from playing — but shot a combined 5-for-28 from the field in Games 2 and 3.
Embiid continues to play well despite a knee injury. The NBA MVP had 34 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in 46 minutes in Game 4:
Joel Embiid vs Boston Celtics
34 PTS
13 REB
4 AST
1 STL
11/26 FG
12/15 FT#76ers W.#BrotherlyLove #NBA #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/AzQ6qNvBLF— A Walking Highlight (@11AWH) May 7, 2023
With Embiid posting back-to-back 30+ point double-doubles in Game 3 and 4 of this series, the LCL sprain in his right knee might still be plaguing him, but he is doing his best to fight through it.
Boston Celtics (63-29, 2-2)
Boston allowed 92 points in the first three quarters of Sunday’s loss but limited Philadelphia to 15 points in the fourth, when the 76ers shot 31.6 percent from the field. That helped them erase a 16-point, third-quarter deficit.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points, six assists, four blocks and a playoff career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Celtics.
JAYSON TATUM IS ON A HEATER RIGHT NOW🤯 pic.twitter.com/7dImH1uwvK
— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) May 2, 2023
Jaylen Brown finished with 23 points but was limited to three field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, as was Tatum.
Coaching Controversy
Boston had a chance to win Game 5 on two separate occasions at the end of regulation and overtime. But head coach Joe Mazzulla elected to keep a timeout in his back pocket in both instances, despite clearly having little-to-no plan in place. Marcus Smart took both potential game-winning shots, and didn’t even get off the second attempt before the buzzer.
Game 6 will be played Thursday in Philadelphia, and, if needed, Game 7 will be in Boston on Sunday. The team that advances will play either the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference final.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
