Celtics spoil – Boston rode another sharp shooting night from Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum to beat Philadelphia 128-96, taking a 3-1 lead as Joel Embiid returned from an appendectomy.
PHILADELPHIA — The playoffs moved fast Sunday, and so did the Boston Celtics.
Boston turned Joel Embiid’s return from an appendectomy into a short-lived storyline. rolling to a 128-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to seize a 3-1 series lead.. The focus was still on Embiid—cleared to play after surgery about two weeks earlier—but the Celtics made sure the game belonged to their pace. their spacing. and their defensive discipline. not his comeback.
Payton Pritchard delivered the kind of performance that tends to decide second-order questions in a series: not just who scored. but who changed the rhythm.. Pritchard hit six of Boston’s 24 3-pointers and scored 32 points. switching roles as the game demanded and finding open looks with the confidence of a player who knows where his team needs him most.. Jayson Tatum added 30 points and 11 assists, turning Philadelphia’s problems into repeated advantages.
Jaylen Brown scored 20 for the Celtics, and Boston’s margin wasn’t a one-off.. They won by 20-plus points for the second time in the series. building a repeatable formula: protect the paint. pressure possessions. and punish second chances.. In the first half. Boston owned a 14-rebound edge. a swing that helped spark a 13-0 run in second-chance points as Philadelphia struggled to locate its own physicality.
Embiid returned to the court wearing a protective brace around his midsection. cleared to play roughly 40 minutes before tipoff after surgery in Houston on April 9 for appendicitis.. He scored quickly—two free throws. then a two-handed jam. and the team’s first eight points—suggesting he could still provide the electric first-quarter lift the 76ers have relied on.
But the Celtics didn’t allow that early spark to become a full ignition.. After that initial burst, Embiid went cold, missing seven straight shots.. Even when he found his way back—converting a three-point play in the third quarter—the deficit was already large enough that Philadelphia couldn’t turn momentum into a comeback.
Boston’s approach also reflected a more durable kind of playoff readiness.. There had been questions about how Tatum’s return from an Achilles injury earlier in the season might change the team’s flow. especially after Boston had learned to function in the absence of a six-time All-Star.. Those concerns never really became a long-term obstacle.. Tatum has reacclimated quickly. and the Celtics are playing like a group that doesn’t simply survive adjustments—it absorbs them.
Pritchard’s night underscored that absorption.. He drilled a long 3 on one leg to end the first quarter and widen the gap to 34-18. a sequence that captured how Boston’s offense keeps its options open.. When Philadelphia’s defense closed one area, another showed up.. When Embiid’s presence briefly shifted the floor, Boston countered by tightening the game plan everywhere else.
For the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey’s 22 points were a reminder that talent alone doesn’t solve systemic matchup issues.. Embiid’s comeback mattered emotionally. but it didn’t change the underlying problem of how Philadelphia defended without enough consistent pressure. or how it couldn’t stop Boston’s recovery possessions from turning into easy points.. The numbers tell part of the story. but the shape of the game told the rest: Boston controlled tempo. controlled space. and controlled the moments when the series could have swung.
Boston now heads toward Tuesday night’s Game 5 in Boston with a series lead that feels earned rather than accidental.. Philadelphia faces an uphill climb in a best-of-seven where one off night can end it—especially when the opponent is already hitting threes. winning the rebound battle. and making second chances look routine.. If the Celtics finish this in front of their home crowd. the larger postseason implication will be less about one injury and more about what Boston is building: a team that looks increasingly comfortable as the favorite in the Eastern picture.
The Celtics’ ability to blunt Embiid’s return should also settle a key storyline for the rest of the spring.. Even when Philadelphia gets its star back. Boston still dictates the terms of engagement—length. defense. and shot selection—suggesting the series isn’t just about who comes back sooner.. It’s about who runs the game more completely.