The Sixers shocked the Celtics in Boston, pulling off an impressive 113-97 win in Game 5 to force a Game 6 back in Philadelphia. Joel Embiid led the way with 33 points and eight assists in a gutsy performance.
Here’s what stood out.
The game began as rough as possible for Joel Embiid. As he continues to work his way back from a recent appendectomy, Embiid struggled to find his shot early in this game, missing his first four shots. On his fifth attempt, Embiid finally saw the ball hit the bottom of the net, but his offensive turnaround really began in the second quarter.
Embiid added 13 points in the second and another 10 in the third quarter, even after missing two and a half minutes after a brief knee injury scare.
Returning in Game 4 may not have paid immediate dividends, but it clearly helped Embiid shake off some rust, without which, it’s possible the Sixers’ season would have ended tonight.
One noticeable change in Embiid was the decision to play within the arc offensively in the second half. After missing all five of his attempts from three in the first half, Embiid focused his efforts between the paint and the mid-range, where he’s thrived over his career.
A note for the collective old heads doing victory laps: Embiid did not just live in the paint; he continued to dominate as a midrange shooter.
This has surprisingly become one of the most noteworthy postseason performances of Joel Embiid's career.
With their backs up against the wall, the Sixers played with true desperation in Game 5, particularly in the second half. Aside from 11 combined minutes from Andre Drummond, Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona, the Sixers employed a six-man rotation in this game before garbage time in the late fourth.
The Sixers leaned heavily on their starters, and they gave this game everything they had. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George each logged 43 minutes with another 40 from VJ Edgecombe, 39 from Joel Embiid and 32 from Kelly Oubre. Nick Nurse did what had to be done in this game, and while it led to a necessary win, he may not be able to rely on this move a second time.
It took until the fifth game of the series for Quentin Grimes to show up offensively, and that shouldn’t be forgotten as he prepares to enter free agency, but at least he did show up.
As the only player on the Sixers’ bench to play more than seven minutes, Grimes came up large in 24 minutes with 18 points, going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Grimes had been a defensive contributor all series but extremely passive offensively. While his Game 4 performance was statistically a step in the right direction, it came in a game that looked decided after the first quarter. This was a much more impressive performance considering the context.
The Sixers will return to Philadelphia with an opportunity to force a Game 7 in this series. That will be no easy task, but their backs are very much against the wall, and the team has already responded well once; they just have to do so two more times to pull off the upset.
Game 6 is set for Thursday back at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats included in this article are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference or Team Rankings. All salary information via Spotrac.
