By: Jennifer Portee
4/29/2026
The Sixers’ season was on the line. Down 3-1, backs against the wall, and walking into a hostile Boston crowd, this had all the makings of a quiet elimination night. Instead, Joel Embiid helped 76ers stay in the fight.
Just weeks removed from an emergency appendectomy, Embiid scored 33 points in a 113-97 Game 5 win over the Celtics, dragging Philadelphia back into the series and forcing a Game 6. It wasn’t just the numbers it was the way he built the performance, piece by piece, like a superstar recalibrating in real time.
After a slow start just two points in the first quarter Embiid took over. He got it going in the second quarter with 13 points, stayed in control through the third, and then took over down the stretch in the fourth leading a 12-0 run that completely took the game out of Boston’s hands.
“He was dominant… especially in the second half,” Tyrese Maxey said after finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds. “That’s the dominance you go into a playoff game with.”
That dominance changed everything.
Boston had control early, stretching leads into double digits and looking poised to close the series. But Philadelphia kept chipping away. A 15-3 run in the third quarter shifted momentum, and by the time the fourth arrived, the energy had completely flipped.
Paul George’s clutch three-pointer gave Philly its first lead since the opening period, and from there, the Sixers never looked back. A costly foul by Sam Hauser on a Quentin Grimes three sparked a game-ending 19-5 run that silenced the Garden.
The Celtics simply couldn’t respond.
Jayson Tatum posted 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown added 22, but Boston’s offense collapsed when it mattered most. The Celtics managed just 10 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 3-for-22 as possessions turned empty and frustration set in.
“When you have empty possession after empty possession… it’s frustrating,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla admitted.
For Brown, the issue was clear: Embiid got comfortable.
“He had too many easy baskets,” Brown said. “We’ve got to make him work.”
That’s the challenge now. Because if Embiid looks anything like he did in Game 5 finding rhythm, imposing his will, and controlling tempo this series suddenly feels very different.
Philadelphia, the No. 7 seed that clawed its way in through the play-in, now heads home with momentum and belief. A team that was blown out in Game 4 and called its own performance “unacceptable” has turn things around in just 48 hours.
Game 6 in Philly now carries a different kind of pressure not desperation, but opportunity.
And if it comes down to it, Game 7 would send it back to Boston.
But for now, the Sixers are still breathing.
And Joel Embiid is the reason why.