Celtics beat 76ers 128-96 to take 3-1 series lead

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Payton Pritchard hit six of Boston’s 24 3-pointers and scored 32 factors and Jayson Tatum had 30 factors and 11 assists to assist the Boston Celtics spoil Joel Embiid’s return from an appendectomy and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-96 on Sunday night time for a 3-1 lead of their first-round playoff sequence.

Recreation 5 is Tuesday night time in Boston.

Jaylen Brown scored 20 factors for the Celtics, who thumped the Sixers by 20-plus factors for the second time within the sequence.

Embiid scored 26 factors in 34 minutes simply 17 days after having an appendectomy. Embiid wasted little time scoring in his first recreation since April 6. The 2-time NBA scoring champion sank two free throws for the Sixers’ first factors of the sport, added a monster two-handed jam and scored the crew’s first eight factors.

Embiid withered after the quick begin and missed seven straight photographs earlier than he transformed a three-point play within the third quarter. That reduce the Sixers’ deficit to 23 factors.

The Celtics hardly wanted a lot manufacturing from Brown or Tatum — they mixed for 50 factors in a Recreation 3 win and solely 13 within the first half of Recreation 4 — and used a whopping 14-rebound edge within the first half that sparked a 13-0 shutout in second-chance factors to construct a 21-point lead.

Tyrese Maxey scored 22 factors for the Sixers.

Embiid had an appendectomy in Houston on April 9 after Philadelphia’s star massive man was stricken with appendicitis in a single day. He returned to the courtroom Sunday sporting a protecting brace round his midsection and was cleared to play about 40 minutes earlier than the scheduled tipoff.

No matter emotional elevate he offered lasted solely minutes into the primary quarter.

Pritchard, who adjusted his recreation, first as a starter after which by returning to the bench position that earned him Sixth Man of the 12 months honors final season, buried a protracted 3 on one leg to finish the primary quarter and provides Boston a 34-18 lead. Embiid made 3 of 5 photographs within the first quarter whereas the remainder of the Sixers missed 10 of 13 photographs.

The Celtics gained Recreation 1 by 32 factors and the Sixers responded with a shock 111-97 win in Boston in Recreation 2. Maxey scored 31 factors and shot the Sixers right into a fourth-quarter lead in Recreation 3 earlier than Tatum and Brown took over down the stretch for the Celtics in a 108-100 victory.

There have been some questions on how Tatum’s return in early Marc h from the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered within the playoffs final Could would have an effect on the stream of a bunch that had realized to regulate and thrive with out the six-time All-Star.

As a substitute, Tatum has reacclimated himself in brief order and the Celtics are dominating like a crew that feels as if the East will undergo Boston.

Embiid’s gutsy return mattered little, and now the Celtics can clinch the sequence at residence and await the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks sequence.