“I don’t think I can be stopped.” 💪😤 @JoelEmbiid discusses his offensive approach following his 33-point outing that helped the 76ers prevail in Game 5.
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 04: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center on November 04, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics came home to TD Garden on Tuesday night with a chance to close out the Philadelphia 76ers and move on. They had won three of the first four games. Joel Embiid had only just returned from emergency surgery. The math favored Boston in every reasonable way.
For three quarters, it looked like the math was going to hold.
Then the fourth quarter arrived, and nothing fell.
Joel Embiid finished with 33 points and was the best player on the floor. After the 76ers pulled off a 113-97 win that sends the series back to Philadelphia, he was asked what he thought about his ability to take over a game.
“I feel pretty good about my chances of going one-on-one against anyone in this league,” Embiid said. “I don’t think I can be stopped.”
After what he did in the second half Tuesday, it is hard to argue. Embiid spent much of the first half drifting to the perimeter while Neemias Queta kept him largely contained. The moment Queta picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter and headed to the bench, everything changed. Embiid scored 18 of his 33 points after halftime, converting 7 of 10 field goal attempts and overwhelming the Celtics’ interior with force and precision.
Jayson Tatum acknowledged the performance from the 76ers star. “Give him credit, he played well,” Tatum said. “He put a lot of pressure on us.”
“I don’t think I can be stopped.” 💪😤 @JoelEmbiid discusses his offensive approach following his 33-point outing that helped the 76ers prevail in Game 5.
The Celtics led by 13 early in the third quarter. The building was loud. A closeout felt inevitable.
It was not.
Boston’s offense produced just 11 points in the fourth quarter. Their shooting went completely cold across the game’s last seven minutes as shot after shot rimmed out or fell short. Jaylen Brown and Tatum were a combined 0 for 8 in the fourth, unable to generate anything in the moments that mattered most.
Brown was direct about what went wrong. “I felt like he had too many easy baskets,” Brown said of Embiid. “We need to make him work. It was just too easy for him.”
The foul trouble issue was not new, but it became decisive Tuesday. Once Queta sat, Nikola Vucevic stepped in and Embiid went to work in the paint.
Derrick White continued a difficult series, finishing 2 of 8 from the field for 6 points. Through five games, he has connected on just 7 of 33 three-point attempts, and his play has grown increasingly tentative as the misses have accumulated.
GettyBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 28: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers attempts a free throw against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in Game Five of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff at TD Garden on April 28, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Tatum still finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, battling through a night where the shot never quite arrived. Brown added 22 points on 9 of 23 shooting. The production existed in the aggregate. The execution in critical moments did not.
Boston converted 11 of 39 three-point attempts on the night. On evenings when the shooting deserts them, the Celtics have shown they can struggle to manufacture points another way. That is the problem Joe Mazzulla has to solve before Thursday.
The series returns to Philadelphia for Game 6. Boston still leads 3-2, and this series has consistently rewarded the visiting team, which gives the Celtics genuine reason for confidence heading back there.
GettyBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 28: Paul George #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers defends Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the second half of Game Five of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff at TD Garden on April 28, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Celtics let this one get away. A 13-point third-quarter lead dissolved, the offense seized up at the worst possible time, and a team that had been a quarter away from elimination left TD Garden with life.
Embiid earned his declaration. He was the dominant force in the building, and Boston has no clean answer for him when Queta is sitting in foul trouble. That problem needs a real solution before Thursday.
Boston still controls the series. The lead is still theirs to protect.
Close it out in Philadelphia.
Keith Watkins Keith Watkins is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. He previously wrote for FanSided, NBA Analysis Network, and Last Word On Sports. Keith is based in Bangkok, Thailand. More about Keith Watkins
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