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Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers attempts a free throw against the Boston Celtics

Over the weekend, after star Sixers big man Joel Embiid came back against the Celtics just a bit over two weeks after having an emergency appendectomy, the team and Embiid were widely panned. The decision to play Embiid appeared to backfire, as the Celtics drubbed Philly by 32 points and Embiid was out of sorts, shooting 9-for-21, including 1-for-6 from the 3-point line. He had 26 points on that day, but was a minus-25 in the box score.

But on Tuesday back in Boston for Game 5, with the Sixers trailing 3-1 in the series, Embiid showed that he was just getting the rust off in that first showing. Embiid thrived at the TD Garden, going 12-for-23 shooting with 33 points, and recording eight assists, mostly by picking apart the Celtics’ double-team attempts.

The Sixers took control in the fourth quarter and subdued the Celtics with a 113-97 victory that gives Philly a glimmer of hope in this one.

Joel Embiid Attacked the Basket for the Sixers

Embiid was struggling again from the 3-point line for the Sixers, shooting 0-for-5, but he took his own lesson from Sunday’s loss to the Celtics and decided to put aside the 3s and attack the basket in the second half.

The Celtics design their defense around luring and nudging Embiid to the 3-point line, and Embiid admitted he fell into their hands.

Said Embiid on the ESPN postgame broadcast: “I kind of got sucked into that game plan, but when you miss a couple of ones, you gotta adjust and I just started going inside and found some luck.”

Sixers Knew Celtics Would Make a Run

It was ill-timed for the Celtics, who had built a 13-point lead in the third quarter and were hoping to put an end to this series early. But they quickly saw it dissipate as Embiid asserted himself and began to show what the Sixers team is capable of when healthy.

The Celtics, for their part, showed weakness, especially the sideways-shooting Derrick White, who continued his regular-season struggles right through the playoffs. He was 2-for-8 shooting on Tuesday, 0-for-4 from the 3-point line. He has now shot just 20.8% on 3s over his past seven games.

“Professional. We did our job,” Embiid said of the win. “I told the guys, confidence in Boston, I have been playing against these guys basically my whole career. They’re gonna make a run and that’s OK, this crowd is fantastic especially when they get up and they get a lead.  I felt early on, when they got that lead, we just kept playing our game. I told the guys, it is going to come back to us, start making shots.

“But we gotta focus on defense. And I thought we did a better job today.”

Joel Embiid: Sixers ‘Don’t Have a Choice’ vs. Celtics

The Sixers remain a long way from winning the series, knowing they granted the Celtics three chances to close out the series. The next one will come Thursday back in Philadelphia.

Said Embiid on repeating the desperation from Game 5 in Game 6: “We don’t have a choice. I know tonight, they only got up 39 3s, they want to get up way more than us. So, we’ve got to keep guarding the 3-point line like we did tonight. We did a way better job of not overhelping, limiting them to 2s. We gotta keep doing the same thing. …

“We’re gonna need everybody to come back to Boston.”