Game ID: 42500115
Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 23 34 29 11 97PHI 21 29 35 28 113
BOS vs PHI ScoutingBOS vs PHI Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 4/19 · 6 days' restOUT Tatum missed 2 since 4/10, returns tonight: 32 min (96% of 34)
BACK Vučević back 4/05 after 14, 20 min since (95% of 20)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 27 min since (175% of 16)
BACK González back 4/10 after 2, 25 min since (180% of 14)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/21 · 1 day's restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 32 min since (96% of 34)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 23 min since (147% of 16)
BACK González back 4/10 after 2, 13 min since (94% of 14)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 18 min since (113% of 16)
BACK González back 4/10 after 2, 13 min since (94% of 14)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT González missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 3 min (20% of 14)
BACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 38 min since (113% of 34)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 15 min since (96% of 16)
BOS availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 37 min since (111% of 34)
BACK González back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (20% of 14)
BOS availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 38 min since (113% of 34)
BACK González back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 14)
BOS availability going into 5/02 · 1 day's restBACK González back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 14)
PHI availability going into 4/19 · 6 days' restOUT Embiid missed 3 since 4/09, out tonight
BACK Watford back 4/12 after 3, 7 min since (44% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
BACK Terry back 4/12 after 8, 4 min since (41% of 10)
PHI availability going into 4/21 · 1 day's restOUT Embiid missed 4 since 4/09, out tonight
BACK Watford back 4/12 after 3, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
BACK Terry back 4/12 after 8, 5 min since (51% of 10)
PHI availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Embiid missed 5 since 4/09, out tonight
BACK Watford back 4/12 after 3, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
BACK Terry back 4/12 after 8, 5 min since (51% of 10)
NEW Drummond 18 to 26 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT Embiid missed 6 since 4/09, returns tonight: 34 min (107% of 32)
OUT Watford missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 5 min (31% of 15)
OUT Walker missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 4 min (39% of 11)
OUT Terry missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 4 min (43% of 10)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
NEW Drummond 18 to 25 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 34 min since (107% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/12 after 3, 6 min since (40% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 4 min since (39% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/12 after 8, 5 min since (48% of 10)
PHI availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 36 min since (114% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (21% of 15)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (27% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (29% of 10)
PHI availability going into 5/02 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 36 min since (112% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (17% of 15)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (27% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (24% of 10)
NEW George 32 to 38 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 5/04 · 1 day's restOUT Walker missed 2 since 4/30, returns tonight: 10 min (93% of 11)
BACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 37 min since (115% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (17% of 15)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (24% of 10)
NEW George 32 to 39 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 34 min since (107% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 5 min since (35% of 15)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 6 min since (49% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 5 min since (47% of 10)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 101, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 27 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 25 and George at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Philadelphia minus-8 and the defense, Boston allowing 101 a night to Philadelphia's 112. Call it Boston 115, Philadelphia 106.
4/19 vs PHI 123-91 — BOS notes
BOS won 123-91. BOS shot 50% (45 of 90) to PHI's 39%, 16 of 44 from three. BOS turned it over 8 times to PHI's 14. Brown led with 26 (11 of 21); Tatum added 25, Queta 13. The hinge was Q1, 33-18: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 35. White was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
4/21 vs PHI 97-111 — BOS notes
BOS lost 97-111. BOS shot 39% (35 of 89) to PHI's 48%, 13 of 50 from three, and went to the line 18 times to PHI's 11 — 14 points from the stripe to their 6. Brown led with 36 (11 of 24, 5 of 12 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Tatum added 19. Q1 was theirs, 28-25, but the other 3 periods went 86-69 against them. They led by as many as 13. Pritchard's -15 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/24 @ PHI 108-100 — BOS notes
BOS won 108-100. BOS shot 44% (36 of 81) to PHI's 44%, 20 of 47 from three. BOS turned it over 17 times to PHI's 11. Tatum led with 25 (9 of 17, 5 of 9 from three); Brown added 25, Pritchard 15. The hinge was Q1, 29-24: from level to 5 ahead. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/26 @ PHI 128-96 — BOS notes
BOS won 128-96. BOS shot 48% (42 of 87) to PHI's 41%, 24 of 53 from three. The glass went 51-30 for them. Pritchard led with 32 (12 of 21, 6 of 12 from three); Tatum added 30, Brown 20. The hinge was Q1, 34-18: from level to 16 ahead, and the lead reached 32. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/28 vs PHI 97-113 — BOS notes
BOS lost 97-113. BOS took 11 more shots (89 to 78), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to PHI's 50%, 11 of 39 from three. Tatum led with 24 (8 of 19, 4 of 12 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Brown added 22, Pritchard 12. Q2 was theirs, 34-29, but the other 3 periods went 84-63 against them. They led by as many as 13. Hauser's -21 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/30 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 26 and George at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 102, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Philadelphia minus-8 and the defense, Boston allowing 102 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it Boston 111, Philadelphia 108, Philadelphia keeping it close.
5/02 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 43 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and Embiid at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Philadelphia minus-7 and the turnovers, Boston giving it away 13 times a game to Philadelphia's 9. Call it Boston 111, Philadelphia 107, Philadelphia keeping it close.
4/19 @ BOS 91-123 — PHI notes
PHI lost 91-123. PHI shot 39% (35 of 90) to BOS's 50%, 4 of 23 from three. PHI turned it over 14 times to BOS's 8. Maxey led with 21 (8 of 20, 1 of 4 from three); George added 17, Edgecombe 13. Q2 was theirs, 28-31, but the other 3 periods went 92-63 against them. Maxey's -29 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/21 @ BOS 111-97 — PHI notes
PHI won 111-97. PHI shot 48% (43 of 90) to BOS's 39%, 19 of 39 from three, and got to the line 11 times to BOS's 18. Edgecombe led with 30 (12 of 20, 6 of 10 from three); Maxey added 29, George 19. The hinge was Q2, 37-26: PHI came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 16. Edgecombe was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/24 vs BOS 100-108 — PHI notes
PHI lost 100-108. PHI shot 44% (38 of 87) to BOS's 44%, 12 of 35 from three. PHI turned it over 11 times to BOS's 17. Maxey led with 31 (12 of 31, 5 of 13 from three); George added 18, Oubre Jr. 17. Q3 was theirs, 27-25, the deficit cut from 7 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 83-73 against them. Drummond's -17 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/26 vs BOS 96-128 — PHI notes
PHI lost 96-128. PHI shot 41% (33 of 80) to BOS's 48%, 9 of 30 from three. The glass went 30-51 against them. Embiid led with 26 (9 of 21, 1 of 6 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Maxey added 22, George 16. Q2 was theirs, 20-22, but the other 3 periods went 106-76 against them. Oubre Jr.'s -31 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/28 @ BOS 113-97 — PHI notes
PHI won 113-97. PHI shot 50% (39 of 78) to BOS's 40%, 15 of 42 from three. Embiid led with 33 (12 of 23, 0 of 5 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); Maxey added 25, Grimes 18. The hinge was Q4, 28-11: PHI came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 16. PHI trailed 50-57 at the half and won the second half 63-40. George was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/30 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 26 and George at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 102, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Philadelphia minus-8 and the defense, Boston allowing 102 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it Boston 111, Philadelphia 108, Philadelphia keeping it close.
5/02 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 43 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and Embiid at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Philadelphia minus-7 and the turnovers, Boston giving it away 13 times a game to Philadelphia's 9. Call it Boston 111, Philadelphia 107, Philadelphia keeping it close.
5/04 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 100, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Anunoby at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. 3 days' rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Embiid at 28 and Maxey at 28 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Philadelphia minus-6 and the line, where New York takes 28 free throws a game to Philadelphia's 21. Call it New York 115, Philadelphia 106.
5/06 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 98, shooting 54 percent and 41 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Embiid at 25 and Maxey at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Philadelphia minus-6 and the defense, New York allowing 98 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it New York 118, Philadelphia 106, New York by 12.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHIAD A. Drummond
DB D. Barlow
JE J. Embiid
JW J. Walker
KL K. Lowry
KO K. Oubre Jr.
PG P. George
QG Q. Grimes
TM T. Maxey
TW T. Watford
VE V. Edgecombe
BOSAW A. Williams
BS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
NV N. Vučević
PP P. Pritchard
RH R. Harper Jr.
SH S. Hauser
VU Vucevic
PHI/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Joel Embiid scores 33 as 76ers beat Celtics 113-97 in Game 5 to keep their season alive
BOSTON -- — Joel Embiid was even better in his second game back.
And that was good enough for the Philadelphia 76ers to avoid elimination in their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics .
Less than three weeks after an emergency appendectomy knocked Embiid out for the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, the Sixers center scored 33 points as Philadelphia beat Boston 113-97 in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
“He was dominant. Especially the second half, he was extremely dominant,” said Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey , who had 25 points and 10 rebounds. “He did a really good job of just inserting himself. I was proud of him tonight, man. That's the dominance that you go into a playoff game with: He did that.”
After scoring two points in the first quarter on 1-of-6 shooting, Embiid scored 13 in the second, 10 in the third and eight in the fourth, when the Sixers went on a 12-0 run to turn a three-point lead into a 15-point runaway.
“I feel like he had too many easy baskets," said Celtics guard Jaylen Brown , who scored 22 points. "We’ve got to make him work. ... Tonight he got a bunch of easy baskets, and I feel like that propelled him.”
Paul George had 16 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Sixers, who lost Games 3 and 4 at home to fall behind 3-1 in the series before returning to Boston to keep their season alive.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 16 rebounds and Neemias Queta had eight points and 14 boards for the Celtics, who will try again to eliminate the Sixers back in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Thursday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be back in Boston on Saturday.
“No need to put any extra pressure on ourselves,” Brown said. “There’s enough of that as it is.”
Earlier Tuesday, Celtics president Brad Stevens was named NBA Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons after disassembling the team that won it all two years ago and getting Boston back to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics did it despite missing Tatum for all but 16 regular-season games as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon.
The Sixers missed the playoffs last year after seven straight postseason appearances, but earned the No. 7 seed this year with a victory over Orlando in a play-in game. After losing by 32 in Game 1, they coasted to a win at Boston in Game 2 but then lost both at home — with another 32-point blowout in Game 4 on Sunday, despite Embiid finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since April 6.
“Our fans deserve a win at home. We lost a tough one, then we got blown out of the water,” Maxey said. “After that performance that we put on last time in front of our fans, that was a disgrace and it was unacceptable.”
The Celtics led by 11 in the second quarter and held a 13-point edge early in the third. Both times Philadelphia rallied within a basket, using a 15-3 run to make it 66-65 Boston midway through the third.
It was still a one-point Celtics lead heading into the fourth, when George hit a 3-pointer to give Philly its first lead since the first quarter. After a pair of 3-pointers by Sam Hauser kept Boston close, Hauser fouled Quentin Grimes while he was shooting a 3; the three free throws started the Sixers on a game-ending 19-5 run.
“We got a little rocky start there in the third,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “But then we really, really got going. And then once we closed the gap, we we’re pretty solid.”
Boston scored just 10 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-22 shooting after making almost half its shots in the first 36 minutes.
“When you have empty possession, empty possession, and you’re not getting stops, it’s frustrating," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.