The Boston Celtics unleashed a barrage of threes while the Philadelphia 76ers wrestled with their offensive identity.
The Boston Celtics' 128-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on April 26 was a dominant display for one side and a reminder of how another functions when their star player returns.
Boston jumped out to a 34-18 first-quarter lead, extended it to 56-38 at halftime, and never allowed Philadelphia to recover, pushing the margin to 95-74 after three before finishing the job in the fourth. The Celtics shot 48% from the field and 45% from three, while Philadelphia managed just 41% overall and 30% from beyond the arc.
The story for Philadelphia started with Joel Embiid's return. With him on the court, the Sixers played much more like a deliberate half-court offense, using post touches, isolations, and pick-and-rolls to create cleaner looks for Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
Embiid got off to a fast start, scoring Philadelphia's first eight points. Afterwards, he made multiple pull-up mid-range jump shots and did well in the post but struggled from long range. Embiid finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Maxey added 22 points and six assists.
Without Embiid, though, Philadelphia looked like a new team entirely. The offense tilted towards quicker guard actions and a focus on slashing to the rim; this gave Boston's defense a much easier read.
Tyrese Maxey still found moments to score, including a three and several drives to the basket, but Boston's defense forced the Sixers into tougher shots and limited their open looks, as the guard only managed to get three shots up in the first half and only got going during the second half.
The contrast was the defining story of the contest; with Embiid, the Sixers had a more structured half-court offense; without him, they became more dependent on their perimeter game. Boston had game plans ready for both versions.
Boston, meanwhile, bounced back from their disappointing Game 3 performance and showed why they were among the league's best-performing teams this season. Jayson Tatum finished with 30 points and 11 assists, Jaylen Brown added a strong scoring night, and Payton Pritchard delivered a fantastic 32-point outburst with six three-pointers.
The Celtics punished Philadelphia's defense time and time again with a barrage of threes. These mostly came from isolation situations where the ball would be kicked out to an open shooter, or the player created their own scoring opportunity and knocked down the shot. Boston's depth mattered as well. Once the first quarter cushion was built, the Celtics kept extending the lead with timely shot-making and suffocating defense.
By the time the fourth quarter arrived, the game was over, and the bench warmers were getting the chance to play. From the opening tip, Boston played their usual style of isolation, a high number of three-point attempts, and constricting defense. Philadelphia, on the other hand, struggled as they were trying to juggle two different offensive identities.
It was another example of how much Embiid changes this team. The Sixers will be hoping they can figure out their offensive woes in Game 5 and extend the series.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at dixonwesley286@gmail.com.