The best sound for a road team to hear--particularly in the playoffs--is silence. After the Philadelphia 76ers pushed their second half lead over the Boston Celtics to 21 points, the Boston Garden silence was deafening and stunning. The fans and the players alike knew that the 76ers would have a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a home win in game six. Philadelphia's 115-103 game five victory is surprising both because of the 76ers' recent propensity to fold in this round of the playoffs and because the Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference Finals four times in the past six seasons.
Joel Embiid scored a team-high 33 points and he had a game-high four blocked shots. His field goal shooting (10-23) and rebounding (seven) were not dominant, but this is yet another example of the numbers not always telling the full story. The attention that Embiid attracted on offense opened up opportunities for his teammates as the 76ers shot .506 from the field, and Embiid's imposing presence in the paint played a major role in limiting the Celtics to .398 field goal shooting. Tyrese Maxey added 30 points and seven rebounds, while James Harden contributed 17 points, a game-high 10 assists, and eight rebounds. Tobias Harris scored 16 points, snatched a game-high 11 rebounds, and played excellent defense despite being limited at times by foul trouble.
This playoff series has had many vicissitudes, which is not unusual, but the 76ers may have found a formula for sustained success: flypaper sticky team defense anchored by Embiid in the paint, and an offense featuring Embiid as the first option, Maxey as the second option, and Harden as the third scoring option/primary playmaker.
While the 76ers appear to have the answers, the Celtics--whose motto for this season is "Unfinished Business"--are left with many unsettling questions:
1) Can they slow down Embiid without unleashing the 76ers' perimeter players?
2) Can they figure out a way to get Jayson Tatum going early in the game?
3) Can they get any production out of their bench, which was invisible for most of game five until racking up some meaningless buckets in garbage time?
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 36 points, but he shot just 11-27 from the field and he was invisible in the first quarter as the 76ers took a 33-26 lead by the end of the opening stanza. Tatum's floor game was good--he finished with 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals--but the Celtics need more consistency and better efficiency from a player who finished fourth in this season's regular season MVP voting. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points on 9-16 field goal shooting. He is consistent and reliable, but he does not seem to be a player who can just take over a game or a series. Marcus Smart was the only other Celtic who scored in double figures, but when the third option has 14 points on 2-7 field goal shooting that usually adds up to a loss.
It is possible that the Celtics will get a big road win in game six and then survive and advance by taking game seven at home--but that will require a lot more focus and energy than the Celtics displayed in game five.