BOSTON — To start Game 5, it looked like Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid still wasn't ready for playoff basketball. In just his second game back since undergoing an appendectomy in early April, the 2023 league MVP missed five of his first six shots.
However, he came alive in the second half, and Celtics star Jayson Tatum pointed to him as a reason why Boston fell 113-97 on Tuesday night, April 28, at TD Garden.
"Give him credit, he played well," Tatum said before wrapping up his postgame press conference. "He put a lot of pressure on us, especially on the defensive end."
Jayson Tatum on Joel Embiid’s big game:“Give him credit he played well. He put a lot of pressure on us.”“We’ll go back and watch the film and make some adjustments and be ready for Game 6.” pic.twitter.com/rC3q5hBGB2
Embiid, who had an appendectomy on April 9, shook off his slow start and then went to work in the paint against Celtics big men Nikola Vucevic and Neemias Queta. He notched 18 points in the final 24 minutes of the contest, shooting 70 percent from the field while appearing relatively unbothered by any of Boston's big men. He finished with a game-high 33 points and also contributed a game-high 8 assists in almost 39 minutes of play.
"I was just figuring it out," Embiid said after the win. "This is the second game back, and then obviously going into that game while the key things was trying to get a couple more 3s off as a team, and I was open, so I got to take them. Unfortunately, didn't make any. I'll make some next game, and then obviously you got to kind of change. It obviously wasn't working, so I had to adjust. Just wanted to impose myself inside a little bit more, and it worked out."
Tatum put together a decent game as well with 24 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. However, collectively, the Celtics couldn't stop Embiid as they had in Game 4. And to make matters even worse, their offense froze down the stretch. Every possession seemed like a struggle and Boston ended up with just 11 points in the fourth quarter (by far its lowest in a single quarter this postseason) after missing its final 16 field goal attempts of the night.
"We'll go back and watch the film and make some adjustments and be ready for Game 6," Tatum said in the wake of the 76ers staving off elimination to make the series 3-2. Game 6 tips off at 8 p.m. on Thursday in Philadelphia.
Since the Celtics' offense was faulty, they could never develop a true rhythm and force the Sixers to run, which is exactly what Embiid doesn't want to do a few weeks removed from surgery.
"We could have played a bit a bit faster," Celtics star Jaylen Brown admitted.
"We just felt like we were just over helping a little too much last game," Philadelphia's Quentin Grimes said postgame. "They had a lot of wide open 3s. That’s what they like to do. I feel like today, we stuck to the game plan, stay solid, guard our man, and just made them take tough 2s."
Although the Celtics led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, they could never achieve true separation. Turnovers, fouls, and bricks aplenty from beyond the arc got in their way.
The Sixers held Tatum and Brown to a combined 0-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. A lot of credit has to go to Grimes, VJ Edgecombe, and Kelly Oubre Jr. for their work out on the perimeter for Philadelphia defensively. Then, Embiid cleaned up any mistakes those players made
"There's a human element part of it," Tatum described of the loss. "We're not perfect. After each game, a win or a loss, there are a lot of things that we look back on and talk about that we can be better at. And tonight's no different."
The Celtics are now 1-2 at home this postseason. They did win Games 3 and 4 on the road, though, and they'll aim to keep that streak going for Game 6.
"We got to make sure we come out with the right energy, the right mindset, the right mentality on the road in Philadelphia," Brown said. "So that's what I'm looking forward to."
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jayson Tatum admits Joel Embiid got the best of the Celtics in Game 5