NBA

• 76ers 115, Celtics 103
  • It’s hard to believe the 76ers haven’t been to the Eastern Conference Finals in the Joel Embiid era, but Philadelphia is now just a win away from that being a reality. Embiid, of course, has done his part in getting the 76ers close, as the MVP was able to get essentially whatever he wanted in this tilt on the way to 33 points. Tyrese Maxey is a fairly volatile player, but his 30 points were also big for Philadelphia last night. The Celtics seem a little broken, so it would behoove the 76ers to throw a haymaker on Thursday to knockout Boston.
  • As I mentioned above, Boston is a bit fractured at the moment, so Joe Mazzulla needs to get his team right. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, combining for 60 points, were fine yesterday, but the Celtics’ role players didn’t show up for the home playoff game. Malcolm Brogdon was particularly useless, as the veteran guard wobbled his way to a 3-9 shooting line. Al Horford shooting 0-7 didn’t help, either. It will be interesting to see how Boston responds in Game 6, as the Celtics are no longer the favorites to win the title.