Philadelphia shocked a lot of people, most notably the Celtics, with their resounding 115-103 win over the Celtics in game five. The Sixers are now up 3-2 and have a chance to finish off the Celtics at home in game 6 on Thursday.
Update Injury for Philadelphia 76ers – Boston Celtics
The 76ers came to play on Tuesday night in Boston. Facing a must win, as they only have one home game left, the Sixers were focused and ready and it showed.
They jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they rolled to an easy 115-103 win in front of stunned Celtics crowd.
And it wasn’t even that close as Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench with over three minutes left and the bench players got some garbage points to cut into the lead.
Joel Embiid had a dominant game, scoring 33 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. But Tyrese Maxey was the real star of the game, as he hit dagger after dagger in the second half and ended up with 30 points. James Harden added 17 points and 10 assists while Tobias Harris had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s not over. We have to get one more,” Joel Embiid said “All of us. We have to show up.”
Embiid (knee) is questionable for Thursday’s Game 6 versus Boston.
Embiid has appeared in four straight games after missing back-to-back contests due to a knee sprain, so it’d be surprising if he took a seat for the critical Game 6 matchup.
The MVP has scored at least 30 points in three straight games, averaging 32.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 blocks in 40.7 minutes during that stretch.
The Boston Celtics came into the pivotal game 5 of this series and came out flat. Meanwhile, the Sixers came in with the eye of the Tiger and jumped out to a big lead that they never looked back from.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, but he was just 11 for 27 from the floor.
Jaylen Brown added 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting. He also had 6 rebounds. But they got no help from anyone else. Marcus Smart was the only other Celtic in double figures with 14 points.
Danilo Gallinari (knee) won’t play in Thursday’s Game 6 versus the 76ers.
Gallinari seems unlikely to suit up soon, considering he has missed the entire season recovering from offseason knee surgery. The veteran forward’s absence won’t affect Boston’s rotation.
