Philadelphia -- The 76ers saved their season on Tuesday night at TD Garden. With their backs against the wall, they prevailed on the parquet, earning a 113-97 win. At the heart of that was Joel Embiid.
About two weeks removed from an appendectomy, the former league MVP summoned that caliber of play on the parquet. He started slow, entering halftime with a game-worst plus-minus rating of -8. Then, he thrived on a slower tempo, putting the Celtics' bigs in foul trouble and having his way against them when matched up one-on-one. And when Boston sent a second defender his way, Embiid picked the defense apart. He routinely found his open teammate, which led to the visitors putting points on the board.
The seven-time All-Star finished the evening with 33 points and eight assists, both of which were game-highs.
Now, this first-round rivalry clash is back in the "City of Brotherly Love." These two franchises have squared off 23 times in the playoffs. The Celtics are 15-7 in those series. However, they have never advanced by punching their ticket on Philadelphia's home floor, per the team's radio play-by-play announcer for 98.5 The Sports Hub, Sean Grande.
As the Celtics aim to make history, Joel Embiid is turning the tide
The 76ers' star center took 10 free-throw attempts. That was the most in the matchup. As he got going in the low post and repeatedly worked his way to the charity stripe, he changed the lineups both sides could turn to and the cards that each head coach could play.
Embiid was a liability in Game 4. Boston hunted him in the pick-and-roll. He didn't provide his team with much of a lift offensively either. What unfolded in the second half of Tuesday's tilt was a development that Sixers' head coach Nick Nurse spoke in detail about during his media availability before Game 6.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse when asked Joel Embiid’s impact on dictating matchups in this series against the Celtics:
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) April 30, 2026
“We’ve gotta be ready for anything.” pic.twitter.com/JHOjZriEWD
"Who they're going to match where certainly was changing in the last game," said Nurse. "They used all their bigs on Joe, and then, they put [Jaylen] Brown on him for a little bit there late. So, I mean, we got to be kind of ready for anything as far as that goes."
Going small is an intriguing option that the visitors may turn to on Thursday. Whether it's Brown or Jayson Tatum guarding Embiid, the Celtics can feel relatively comfortable with either option. Conversely, as Derrick White discussed after Thursday's shootaround, playing at a faster pace is a talking point for Boston. Downsizing would feed into that approach.
Challenging Embiid to keep up could turn him back into a defensive liability and help slow him down offensively. It's an option that could swing the outcome of Game 6 as the Celtics attempt to make franchise history in Philadelphia.
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