In perhaps the most important game of the Joel Embiid era to date, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Boston Celtics down 2-1 in the second round of the 2023 NBA playoffs. The Sixers won in overtime by a score of 116-115.
Let's break down Game 4 between the Sixers and the Celtics.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 34 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 11-26 FG shooting
Embiid once again looked tremendous. He was a beast on the boards with 11 first-half rebounds and continued to defend very well. Although he didn't stuff the assist column, he made a ton of spectacular passes to the corner from the post, which helped Philly keep its offensive rhythm. His scoring tailed off as the game went on as Al Horford turned back the clocks and clamped him up.
James Harden: 42 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, 16-21 FG shooting
Game 1 Harden made a return in this one. He looked athletically rejuvenated, blowing by defenders in open space on a few occasions and burying jumper after jumper. Just a single turnover blemished his stat line and there wasn't any defense that seemed to shake him as he launched from downtown. The theory that Harden plays better the more ridiculous his pregame outfit is having a great day.
Tyrese Maxey: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 6-17 FG shooting
Trying to take Embiid's advice to shoot more threes, Maxey did stay aggressive and shot when the opportunities came. He just didn't make them. An ill-advised attempt at a 2-for-1 was the primary bad moment for him but he had other good moments, too.
Celtics player notes:
Jayson Tatum: 24 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks, 9-20 FG shooting
After feeding off of Embiid's MVP ceremony to have a strong Game 3 performance, Tatum looked like he needed some extra motivation today. He didn't score a single point until late in the second quarter. He made good defensive plays and started attacking the Sixers defense well in the second half.
Jaylen Brown: 23 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-16 FG shooting
The King of the First Quarter came out firing and hitting from all over. His defense took a step back in this one, though it was still good overall, and he once again cooled off after a fantastic start.
Malcolm Brogdon: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 6-13 FG shooting
Brogdon saved this game from being over early. He had another very good scoring night and came away with some big offensive boards.
Game recap:
1st half
With the same defensive assignments as last game for both sides, the Sixers got the pick-and-roll going. Harden was able to get separation and made timely passes to the MVP, who scored a layup and got to the foul line. Maxey got off to a promising start by hitting a pull-up jumper and sliding over to the middle of the court to intercept a pass intended for Tatum.
An incredible start from Brown gave the Celtics a big enough boost to match the Sixers. He scored 12 of Boston's first 14 points – dusting P.J. Tucker at the point of attack, nailing a very difficult triple and moving well without the ball. The Sixers' refusal to box out gave the Celtics second-chance opportunities but they didn't take advantage…yet. Grant Williams, still standing strong after getting his face stomped, was one of Boston's first subs and guarded Embiid.
After seven misses, Georges Niang made Philly's first triple off of a feed from Embiid. The big fella then scored in an and-one in the post over Smart and hit a fadeaway from the baseline off of a tough angle. On defense, it was more of the same — no easy looks at the hoop. No one else in green and white could pick up the slack for Brown when he checked out, resulting in a 19-point first quarter for Boston while Philly had 27, aided by four offensive rebounds from Maxey.
Harden led the second unit with a gust of urgency. After feeding Paul Reed on a roll, he scored with an array of jumpers (two from deep), blocked a jumper from Malcolm Brogdon and got a rebound over Robert Williams by tipping it off the backboard to himself. He helped put the Sixers up by 11 points midway through the period. De'Anthony Melton stepped up and played some solid defense on Brown. He even picked his pocket and got out on the break…before missing the layup. Drink.
The second-quarter fun continued when the other starters returned (Harris stayed in with him, as Rivers decided not to go with Jalen McDaniels). Embiid was cooking on offense and the Sixers defense had come to play. Easy shots were harder to come by as Philly went on an 8-0 run to increase the lead. A halfcourt Harden lob to Embiid for a layup pushed the lead to 16 but Boston chipped away at it before the break.
At the half, the Sixers led 59-50.
2nd half
Tatum scored the first two buckets of the half as the Celtics looked to climb back into the lead. They got it down to five before the Sixers ripped off 17 points in under four minutes, which featured a nice drive-and-kick from Maxey to Tucker for three and eight points from Harden. The Sixers went up by 15 midway through the quarter, forcing a Boston timeout.
Rivers made it a point to get Maxey more involved in the offense and such was the case in the third quarter. Harden and Embiid made sure to get Maxey his chances to make stuff happen, though they weren't just giving him the keys to the car. He had some good moments (the drive-and-kick that came off of a pick-and-roll with Embiid, a triple out of a swing pass from Tucker) and some bad (trying to get a layup by Timelord, which was blocked).
Philly took a nine-point lead into the fourth. A pair of fouls in the first 30 seconds of the fourth from Harris provided a less-than-ideal start. It compounded as Philly allowed the Celtics to swoop in from the perimeter and rebound their misses.
Boston targeted Harden and Niang to generate open threes before a Tatum reverse transition layup tied the game. A 21-6 Boston run from the end of the third quarter to the middle of the fourth had silenced the building and put the Sixers on the ropes with under five minutes to go.
As the Sixers continued to let the Celtics get offensive boards and they rotated on defense like they were stuck in the mud, an open Horford dunk put Boston ahead. Harden tied it up with free throws as Tucker came in for Niang. As Embiid struggled to score on Horford, Boston went up by five with two minutes left.
Harden cut it to three on a layup and then Tucker snagged the offensive board, scored a layup through the foul and tied things at 105. In need of another clutch bucket to tie the game, Harden shook off Horford after a switch and converted on a floater with 15.9 seconds left. Boston came up empty on the final possession.
In overtime, Embiid hit a turnaround jumper on Horford to cut the deficit to one. Then he drove and hit a layup with Smart getting the charge call. Rivers challenged it but was unsuccessful. Embiid drew a shooting foul on Horford and hit both free throws. Tatum hit an off-the-bounce jumper and then Embiid fed Harden on a corner three to give them the lead. Somehow, the Sixers held on to win.
Random thoughts:
- Harden inviting John Hao, a survivor of the Michigan State shooting, to today's game and saying hello during warmups was an awesome gesture.
Game 5 will take place Tuesday night at TD Garden.
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