Joe Mazzulla Sees 76ers Beat Celtics 113-97 Behind Embiid's 33

joe mazzulla watched the Philadelphia 76ers keep their season alive with a 113-97 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Joel Embiid scored 33 points in his second game back after an emergency appendectomy, and Philadelphia cut Boston’s 3-1 series lead to force another game.

Embiid Sets the Pace

Embiid missed the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, but his return has changed the shape of this series. He scored 26 points with 10 rebounds in Game 4, then topped that with 33 as the 76ers went back to Boston and turned away elimination.

Tyrese Maxey added 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Paul George scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Those numbers gave Philadelphia enough scoring behind Embiid to survive a night when Boston still had its own production, but not enough to finish the job.

Boston's Early Lead

The Celtics led by 11 in the second quarter and by 13 early in the third quarter before Philadelphia answered with a 15-3 run to pull within 66-65 midway through the third. That swing changed the game’s rhythm and set up a close finish that Boston could not stop.

Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Neemias Queta added eight points and 14 rebounds. Jaylen Brown said, “We’ve got to make him work.... Tonight he got a bunch of easy baskets, and I feel like that propelled him.”

Game 6 Back in Philadelphia

Paul George’s 3-pointer gave Philadelphia its first lead since the first quarter in the fourth, and the 76ers closed with a 19-5 run after Quentin Grimes drew a shooting foul on Sam Hauser’s foul on a 3-point attempt. Nick Nurse said, “We got a little rocky start there in the third,” before adding, “But then we really, really got going. And then once we closed the gap, we we’re pretty solid.”

Game 6 is Thursday night in Philadelphia, and Game 7 would be back in Boston on Saturday if necessary. The 76ers have already answered one elimination game; now they return home with the series still alive and Boston carrying the pressure.