5 takeaways from Sixers' huge Game 5 win over Celtics
Full Focus: Tyrese Maxey steps up in a big way for Philadelphia in Game 5.
BOSTON — Payton Pritchard. Luke Kornet. Sam Hauser. Mike Muscala. Grant Williams.
Ladies and gentlemen, your Boston Celtics.
If that truly was the Celtics’ final home game of the 2022-23 postseason — a distinct possibility after Philadelphia dominated them 115-103 at TD Garden Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven East semifinals series — then that scrambled-eggs unit cavorting on the parquet at the end will be the last in-person glimpse many Boston fans take into summer.
It might not linger as a memory, of course, with Game 6 still to play in the Sixers’ building Thursday (7:30 ET, ESPN). Philadelphia needs one more victory to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2001 and, 12 months ago, the Celtics survived this very predicament.
The mere fact that they are in a predicament, the No. 2 seed folding at home against a Sixers squad playing its best game so far in this round, speaks to the many holes in Boston’s performance. Plugging all or most in 48 hours, in front of hostile fans at the Wells Fargo Center, will be a huge ask.
Here are five takeaways from Philadelphia’s second consecutive victory (and second in three tries at TD Garden) that has Boston on the brink of elimination:
1. Joel EmVP
Considering how uncertain the Sixers were about Joel Embiid’s sprained right knee heading into this series, what he’s done has been downright staggering. He wasn’t able to play in the opener, such an emotional jolt that it got his teammates’ desperation, adrenaline and nothing-to-lose freedom lined up like tumblers in a lock.
Next came his “rust” game. Since then, three straight in which the big fella scored 30 points or more, befitting both the NBA’s scoring champion and this season’s Kia MVP.
This was Embiid in all his glory, scoring (33), shooting (3-for-7 on 3-pointers), defending (four blocked shots) and leading as a swell teammate, celebrating their contributions to Tuesday’s overall goal. He was on fire from the from the foul line whether shooting freebies (10-for-11) or using that spot to hoist his jumpers. He even chased down Jaylen Brown to swat his breakout layup, cleaning up his own turnover deep into the final quarter.
No one was checking out his knee brace anymore.
2. Gang Green that couldn’t shoot straight
The raw numbers were ugly as the Celtics made only 39.8% of their field goal attempts, 31.6% of their 3-pointers and 73.5% of their free throws. It was one of their worst across-the-board misfirings of the season given that they ranked second (49.4%), second (38.8%) and fifth (81.6%), respectively, in those categories in 2022-23.
Philadelphia disrupted Boston’s offensive machine by forcing it — via its own efficient attack — to grind against Embiid & Co. in a halfcourt defense. And its players were hyperactive, mixing up coverages and frenetically confronting and chasing Celtics shooters to get and keep them out of rhythm.
Jayson Tatum was all over the place, finishing with nice numbers — 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists — while missing all five of his shots in the first quarter and eight of his 11 3-pointers. Steady vet Al Horford took only seven shots, all from behind the arc, and didn’t hit one. Boston’s three-guard rotation of Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon shot a combined 7-for-22.
What went wrong?
“Everything,” Smart said. “The energy wasn’t right. It could have been better, way better. If you’re not ready to come out, at any given moment, this can happen.”
3. The best version of Harden yet
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers at first called his bearded point guard a “magician.” Then Rivers came up with better imagery, challenging a roomful of basketball reporters to shift into baseball mode to appreciate how Harden performed Tuesday.
He compared Harden to a catcher, working behind home plate to draw out the absolute best from his starting pitcher. “He called,” Rivers said, “a perfect game.”
That meant scoring when needed, though Harden took only eight shots, his third fewest all season. It meant feeding Embiid as their top priority. It meant serving other Sixers’ games, too, to keep them involved, loose and committed.
In Games 1 and 4, Harden went vintage, scoring like his Houston MVP self to give Philadelphia 45 and 42 points. He wasn’t his old self in Games 2 and 3, though – just old, shooting 5-for-28 and 2-for-13 on 3s as the Sixers lost both.
In Game 5, Harden went 5G, his best version yet. Understated, an adjective rarely associated with him on or off the court. Timely and surgically efficient. He left air and space in the game such that Tobias Harris (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Tyrese Maxey (30 points, including 6-for-12 from the arc) could thrive.
Simply put, the Sixers were firing on all cylinders in their Game 5 win.
4. Danuel was in the House
House, a 29-year-old wing who had made six NBA stops after going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016, had appeared in only four of Philadelphia’s eight playoff games prior to Tuesday, logging just 13 minutes. But when Rivers decided to reach for a wild card in Game 5, he considered two others and landed on House.
One reason? House spent parts of three seasons in Houston with Harden. It helped explain Philadelphia’s interest in signing him last summer and it matter in this game because House worked in sync with his bearded buddy.
In 15 minutes, the sturdy 6-foot-6, 220-pounder provided physical defense on various Boston shooters. He was quick to and with the ball, scoring 10 points by making five of his seven shots and grabbing five rebounds.
“Just smart,” Harden said of House. “Things he knows that you don’t have to tell him.”
One example: A few minutes into the final quarter, with the impatient TD Garden crowd at its loudest, Harden delivered a slick behind-the-back bounce pass to House. House could have romped up the lane and taken his chances at the rim, but instead he saw and passed to Maxey, open in the right corner.
Maxey’s 3-pointer made it 95-81 and shushed those folks but good.
5. Dangerous dose of déjà vu
The Sixers are taking nothing for granted. They respect the talent of their opponents; they know their own play has fluctuated unnervingly at times in this series and they recall a little recent history. It was, after all, just 12 months ago that the Celtics were in these same circumstances.
Last May, they also had squandered a Game 5 in Boston, falling behind 3-2 then against the Bucks. They had to go into Milwaukee and grab Game 6 by the neck, made possible by Tatum’s 46-point performance. That enabled them to drag everyone back to Boston for Game 7, which the Celtics won in a 28-point blowout as Grant Williams went all chunky Steph Curry (7-for-18 on 3s).
Asked after Game 5 Tuesday what he recalled from that East semifinals comeback, Smart said: “The brutality of it. It’s a true dogfight, scratching and clawing, biting, blood, everything. And if you’re not willing to pretty much get dirty, if you’re not willing to bleed, if you’re not willing to break something, willing to tear something, going hard, then you shouldn’t be on that court.”
That doesn’t sound like something the Sixers want to endure. The Celtics, at this point, might have no choice.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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