Embiid returns, but 76ers get routed by Boston in Game 4
Goforitradio Staff
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The Philadelphia 76ers got Joel Embiid back for Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Sunday after missing the first three games of the series following emergency surgery to remove his appendix 17 days ago.
However, it didn’t matter. Peyton Pritchard had 32 points off the bench, including six threes, Jayson Tatum had 25 of his 30 points in the second half, including five threes, and Jaylen Brown chipped in with 20 as the Celtics defeated the 76ers 128-96 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Celtics have a commanding 3-1 lead, and they can close out the series in Boston on Tuesday night.
Boston, which led by as many as 32 points, shot 24-53 from three-point range, and Philadelphia really had no answers.
Pritchard scored 13 points in the first quarter, and the Celtics led 32-16 at the end of one. Boston kept up their dominance in the second quarter and took a 56-38 lead at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to Brown and Tatum. After shooting a combined 4/16 from the field in the first half, the two combined for 25 points in the third on 7/12 shooting from the field. The duo of Brown and Tatum squashed any chances of Philadelphia coming back.
Regarding Embiid, he led the 76ers with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, but he shot 9-21 from the field. Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points and had six assists, but he took only three shots in the first half and seemed out of sync.
Bottom Line:
After competing in Games 2 and 3, the 76ers laid an egg in Game 4. They got outshot, outhustled, outmuscled, and just flat out got dominated by the Celtics.
Boston outrebounded Philadelphia 50-30, and the Celtics had the advantage in second-chance points(18-9).
Going forward, the 76ers need more from rookie VJ Edgecombe(6 points in Game 4). After making six threes in Game 2, Edgecombe was 0-11 from deep in Games 3 and 4. He has hit the rookie wall hard, and if Philly wants to extend this series, he has to do better.
Maxey has to be aggressive from the beginning of the game until the end if the 76ers have any hope of winning this series.
Most importantly, the 76ers need to play with more energy and effort.
Is the series over? Probably. Will the 76ers play better in Game 5? Probably. Can they win Game 5? Maybe, but who knows what we’ll see out of the 76ers following this effort on Sunday night.
