Quentin Grimes Scores 18 as 76ers Top Celtics in Game 5

Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and hit four three-pointers in Game 5, and the 76ers beat the Celtics to keep their season alive. quentin grimes also handled strong perimeter defense against Jaylen Brown, giving Philadelphia a lift in a game it had to have.

Grimes Delivers in Game 5

Grimes had managed 15 total points across Games 1 through 3, then followed with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in Game 4 before breaking through again Tuesday. That stretch turned him from a quiet second-unit option into a guard the Celtics had to account for every trip down the floor.

Nick Nurse kept pressing him during the series to stay aggressive. On Wednesday, the coach said, “Obviously, he gave us a great lift on both ends,” and, “I’m glad he kind of looked more like himself.”

Boston’s Bench Had Been Winning

The scoring burst came with real pressure around it. Boston’s bench had outscored the Sixers 149-86 entering Game 5 on Tuesday and held a plus-30 plus/minus compared with Philadelphia’s minus-25, a gap that had made the Sixers’ reserve production one of the cleaner problems on the matchup sheet.

Joel Embiid said, “He just helps with the spacing.” He added, “Now [the defense has] got to make a decision, whether it’s double me, which they’re probably still going to do. We just trust him to knock down those wide-open shots, and he did that.”

Philadelphia Heads to Game 6

The Sixers will try to avoid elimination again in Thursday’s Game 6 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. For Philadelphia, Grimes’ line gave the team a path to survive one more night, and it came after a series in which the reserves had been outscored and outplayed for most of the first four games.