Celtics route 76ers to tie series
After giving up home-court advantage with a series-opening loss the Celtics had to come with more emotions and aggressive defense.
Jaylen Brown had 25 points leading the Celtics past the Sixers 121-87, spoiling the new league MVP Joel Embiid’s return.
The Celtics tie the series up at one apiece as the series shifts to Philadelphia Friday night.
Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench scored 23 points and had six of Boston’s 20 3-pointers. Derrick White and Marcus Smart both had 15. Jayson Tatum was held to seven but he was doing a lot of work on the defensive end.
Tatum picked up three fouls in the first half, making him less aggressive. He picked up his fourth foul in the third with 7:34 left when he knocked Harden over trying to fight over a screen. The foul helped Philadelphia cut the lead down from 18 to 13 with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
The rest of the Celtics helped out, they went on a 19-5 run at the end of the quarter to lead 92-65.
A day after being voted MVP Joel Embiid came back from a two game absence. Embiid’s knee sprain was supposed to keep him out four to six weeks but he was cleared by doctors and training staff after morning shootaround and on-court workouts.
He started off slow on offense, didn’t get his first basket until he hit a jumper over Grant Williams at the end of the first quarter. At the end of the first half he had 13 points and was 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
On the defensive end he didn’t miss a beat, he had five blocks in the first 13 minutes of the game.
“I felt pretty good to play and I felt like I could help the team,” he said. “I feel like I just got this out the way. Disappointed by the loss. But that’s a step toward getting back to myself.”
James Harden had himself a night Game 1 with 45 points but it was the opposite Game 2. He missed all six of his 3s, went 2-of-14 from the field finishing with 12 points and 10 boards.
If Philadelphia wants to win they have to hit shots and James has to stay aggressive. Embiid will be fine the more he plays and he gets his legs under him. They have to figure out how to get Tyrese Maxey going, another threat on the floor with Embiid and Harden will spread the floor more.
For the Celtics they have to stay aggressive and go back to the defense they had last season. Stay in attack mode, they have arguably the deepest team in the playoffs and they have guys who can get their own shots.
