Observations after Sixers stay alive, Embiid scores 33 in Game 5 win over Celtics 

BOSTON — The Sixers’ season is not dead just yet.

Joel Embiid turned in one of his best career playoff performances and the Sixers forced a Game 6 in their first-round playoff series against the Celtics with a 113-97 win Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Embiid had 33 points and eight assists in a memorable night.

“You obviously don’t want to go home, so you’ve got to do whatever it takes,” he said.

Tyrese Maxey added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers, who now trail 3-2 in the series. Paul George posted 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 22 points. 

Game 6 will be Thursday night in Philadelphia. Here are observations on the Sixers’ Embiid-led Game 5 victory:

Sixers bring back competitiveness 

The Sixers created their first basket off of a Maxey-Embiid pick-and-pop. Embiid swung the ball to George, who drained a three-pointer from the left wing. Another George triple put the Sixers up 8-2. 

Defensively, the Sixers’ start was encouraging. They were solid on the ball and relied on Embiid to protect the paint. Boston settled for some contested jumpers and the Sixers cleaned up the defensive glass. The Celtics scored just six points in the first six minutes. 

The Sixers’ spirits could have stayed low following an ugly Game 4 loss, but they were certainly not checked out mentally in the early stages. 

“I think that the players are pretty aware that they need to do the effort side of things, the really tough, grind it out things much better,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game. “We show them. They’ve certainly talked about it enough among themselves. And now we’ve just got to see what mental frame of mind we’re in when the ball goes up tonight.”

The Sixers couldn’t break open a big lead because their offense stalled. Embiid began 0 for 4 from the field, including three long-range misfires.

After going 0 for 11 from three-point territory over the past two games, VJ Edgecombe nailed a corner jumper on his first shot beyond the arc. The Sixers launched 13 three-pointers as a team in the first quarter and only made three. Boston missed 11 of its first 12 threes.

Grimes steps up

Nurse initially stuck with Andre Drummond as Embiid’s backup over Adem Bona. Nikola Vucevic drove past Drummond and slammed home a dunk late in the first quarter.

Embiid was whistled for two fouls early in the second quarter and Payton Pritchard picked up where he left off in his 32-point Game 4 performance. Tatum intercepted a Quentin Grimes pass and finished a fast-break layup. Derrick White waltzed past Grimes and scored inside. The Celtics’ lead grew to 11 points on a pull-up Tatum jumper.

Grimes eventually converted a four-point play, but he wasn’t sharp on either side of the floor for much of his first stint and the Celtics’ bench outplayed the Sixers’ once more in the first half.

To Grimes’ credit, he had a great second half and posted 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting on the night. While consistency has been an issue this year for Grimes, he can deliver those sort of momentum-shifting scoring bursts.

“He had a little different confidence to him,” Nurse said of Grimes. “He saw one go in and then Jo found him a little bit from post-ups. Tyrese did a good job of play calling for him as well. It was a huge lift. I think it lifted him on the other end, too. He had a couple of really good defensive possessions.” 

Embiid had a productive second period attacking against the Celtics’ center trio of Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Vucevic. He scored 13 points in the second and also helped the Sixers get Boston in the bonus. 

Embiid dished to Maxey for a right wing three that cut the Sixers’ deficit to 50-48, but the Celtics replied with a 7-0 spurt and also had a strong start to the third quarter. The Sixers soon trailed by double digits again. 

Embiid plays through it all, comes up huge

The Sixers continued to feed Embiid over and over again in the post. 

As his teammates know well, Embiid is awfully tough for anyone to handle 1-on-1 when he’s in rhythm. The 35-year-old Vucevic lacked good defensive answers and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t immediately respond with double teams. Embiid laid the ball in over Vucevic and Edgecombe then drilled a three to pull the Sixers to within 66-65. 

Embiid exited the game with an apparent injury a couple of minutes later. He grimaced and limped under the basket, leading the Sixers to call timeout after Pritchard hit a three. Embiid headed to the locker room.

He was back on the floor with two minutes left in the third quarter and the Sixers closed the period impressively, showing poise at a time when the game could easily have spiraled out of control.

While Embiid’s had well-documented playoff failures, he’s always been determined to grit through pain and injury in the postseason. This was his second game since returning from an appendectomy. In the big picture of his career, Embiid’s resolve to be on the court at well below 100 percent is a quality that sticks out.

With three-balls from Maxey and George, the Sixers surged in front early in the fourth quarter. An Embiid mid-range jumper gave the Sixers a 90-86 lead.

Embiid kept on providing superstar plays. When doubled down low, he assisted a Grimes three. And when he got the ball on the left block against Queta, Embiid sunk a beautiful fadeaway jumper to extend the Sixers’ advantage to eight points.

“I think it was just figuring it out,” Embiid said. “Second game. And then going into the game, one of the keys was trying to get a couple more threes off as a team. And I was open, so I’ve got to take ‘em. Unfortunately, I didn’t make any. I’ll make some next game.

“Then you’ve got to change the mindset. It obviously wasn’t working, so I had to adjust. I just wanted to impose myself inside a little bit more and it worked out.”

During Embiid’s best nights, he has the ability to make just about anything feel possible for the Sixers. The team is still down in the series and still one loss from elimination, but Embiid is a massive reason why they remain alive.