Philadelphia 76ers out to ‘do whatever it takes’ in Game 6 against Boston Celtics
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Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers grabbing a loose ball during the 113-97 NBA Eastern Conference first-round play-off series win against the Boston Celtics on on April 28.
PHOTO: AFP
PHILADELPHIA – With their backs against the ropes in the NBA play-offs Game 5 on Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers came out swinging against the Boston Celtics.
The Sixers’ impressive fourth-quarter performance in Boston sent the first-round Eastern Conference series back to Philadelphia, where the teams will take the court for Game 6 on Thursday (Friday morning, Singapore time). If the Sixers are able to force Game 7, it will be Saturday in Boston.
Boston led by a point going into the final period of Game 5. However, the Sixers outscored the Celtics 28-11 in the fourth quarter en route to a 113-97 victory that left the TD Garden crowd in stunned silence.
“Obviously you don’t want to go home, so you do whatever it takes,” said Sixers center Joel Embiid, who recorded 33 points and eight assists in his second game of the series.
The former NBA MVP missed the first three contests after undergoing an appendectomy earlier this month.
Tyrese Maxey added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and he will also set to be key in Game 6.
“It’ll take everything we’ve got,” Maxey said. “It’ll take even more of an effort than it did (in Game 5).”
Nick Nurse likely will stick with a reduced rotation after the Philadelphia coach primarily used six players in the Game 5 triumph. The starters all played heavy minutes.
Meanwhile, the Celtics were left searching for answers after shooting just three of 22 (13.6 per cent) from the floor in the fourth quarter.
“First of all, give them credit,” said Jayson Tatum, who led the Celtics with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
“They played well. And yeah, a few looks that we felt good about that we just didn’t make. But sometimes that happens. You know, it’s just tough. Not scoring the way you want to puts a lot of pressure on your defence.”
Scoring in vital in every game and Jaylen Brown (22 points on 9-of-23 shooting) and Derrick White (six points on 2-of-8 shooting) were among the Boston players who struggled to find a rhythm in Game 5. White is shooting just 29.8 per cent from the field in the series, including 7 of 33 (21.2 per cent) from long range.
On the bright side, Tatum is averaging 24.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.6 points while shooting 37 per cent from outside the arc. Payton Pritchard has 11 assists and no turnovers in the last two games, while Neemias Queta had 14 rebounds in a losing effort.
“Just have an understanding, perspective. It wasn’t all bad,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
“We played solid basketball, and then let’s focus on the stuff that we have to get better at and be more consistent in those things headed back to Philly.”
Meanwhile in play-off action on Wednesday, Cade Cunningham kept top-seeded Detroit alive against the Orlando Magic, as the Los Angeles Lakers again failed to close out their series with Houston.
The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a comeback victory to take a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Raptors.
Cunningham scored a Pistons playoff-record 45 points to drag his side to a 116-109 victory on a must-win night, steering Detroit back to a 3-2 deficit.
Jabari Smith Jr.’s 22 points helped the Rockets grind out a gritty 99-93 win to bring their series with the Lakers back to 3-2. REUTERS, AFP
