Down 15 points late, Jaylen Brown tried to spark a Celtics rally. The MVP wasn’t having it.
Joel Embiid turned the ball over midway through the fourth quarter, and Boston’s Brown sprinted for the basket. But Embiid recovered for his fourth block of the game, sending Brown’s shot away.
That block shut down the comeback, and seconds later, Embiid got fouled for his 10th and 11th free throws of the game. He missed one—the first time he’s missed a fourth-quarter free throw in these playoffs—but the play took the fight out of the Celtics.
First, P.J. Tucker hit a corner three for his first points of the game, and then Tyrese Maxey’s sixth three-pointer made Boston empty their bench with four minutes to go.
Embiid finished with 33 points, Maxey had 30 and James Harden had 10 assists along with 17 points—on only eight shots. Meanwhile Brown had 24 and Jayson Tatum scored 36, but Boston’s vaunted defense let Philly shoot over 50 percent – too much to overcome.
It’s Philadelphia’s first win in a Game 5 on the road since 2000 and the 12-point victory was their biggest playoff win in Boston since 1982.
Embiid, Harden and company now have a chance to close out Boston at home on Thursday night. It would be Embiid’s first trip to the Conference Finals, but with his big block, he may have eliminated the biggest roadblock en route to the NBA Finals.
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