Game ID: 42500114
Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers
Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHI 18 20 36 22 96BOS 34 22 39 33 128
BOS @ PHI ScoutingBOS @ 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.
PHI availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Embiid missed 2 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Watford missed 3 since 4/06, returns tonight: 7 min (44% of 15)
OUT Beauchamp missed 3 since 4/06, returns tonight: 3 min (19% of 14)
OUT Terry missed 8 since 3/28, returns tonight: 4 min (41% of 10)
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
BOS availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restBACK Vučević back 4/05 after 14, 20 min since (95% of 20)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 16 min since (104% of 16)
BACK González back 4/10 after 2, 25 min since (180% of 14)
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)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 106, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and George at 17 a game. Without Embiid (6 straight), Watford (2 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 106, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 28 and Tatum at 23 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-3 a night and Philadelphia minus-3 and the arc, Boston at 39 percent from three to Philadelphia's 34. Call it Boston 112, Philadelphia 110, Philadelphia keeping it close.
4/12 vs MIL 126-106 — PHI notes
PHI won 126-106. PHI shot 52% (47 of 91) to MIL's 43%, 16 of 41 from three. PHI turned it over 12 times to MIL's 17. Maxey led with 21 (8 of 13, 2 of 5 from three); Grimes added 20, Edwards 17. The hinge was Q3, 38-16: PHI came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 18, and the lead reached 28. PHI trailed 58-62 at the half and won the second half 68-44. Edgecombe was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
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 — 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.
4/30 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.
4/12 vs ORL 113-108 — BOS notes
BOS won 113-108. BOS shot 41% (36 of 87) to ORL's 40%, 19 of 50 from three, and got to the line 22 times to ORL's 30. Scheierman led with 30 (8 of 20, 6 of 14 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Garza added 27, Harper Jr. 27. The hinge was Q3, 42-20: BOS came in trailing by 9 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 16. BOS trailed 52-61 at the half and won the second half 61-47. Scheierman was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
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 — 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.
4/30 @ 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.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSBS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
GO Gonzalez
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
MS M. Shulga
NQ N. Queta
NV N. Vučević
PP P. Pritchard
RH R. Harper Jr.
SH S. Hauser
VU Vucevic
PHIAB A. Bona
AD A. Drummond
DB D. Barlow
DT D. Terry
JE J. Edwards
JE J. Embiid
JW J. Walker
KO K. Oubre Jr.
PG P. George
QG Q. Grimes
TM T. Maxey
TW T. Watford
VE V. Edgecombe
BOS/PHI 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
Celtics spoil Embiid's return to action after appendectomy, beat 76ers to take 3-1 series lead
PHILADELPHIA -- — Payton Pritchard made six of Boston’s 24 3-pointers and scored 32 points and Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 11 assists to help the Boston Celtics spoil Joel Embiid’s return from an appendectomy and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-96 on Sunday night for a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Boston.
“It's going to have to be a big pick-up mentally,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said.
Jaylen Brown scored 20 points for the Celtics, who thumped the Sixers by 32 points for the second time in the series. The Celtics outrebounded the Sixers 51-30.
Embiid scored 26 points in 34 minutes just 17 days after having an appendectomy . Embiid wasted little time scoring in his first game since April 6. The two-time NBA scoring champion sank two free throws for the Sixers’ first points of the game, added a monster two-handed jam and scored the team’s first eight points.
Embiid withered after the fast start and missed seven straight shots before he converted a three-point play in the third quarter. That cut the Sixers' deficit to 23.
The Celtics hardly needed much production from Brown or Tatum — they combined for 50 points in a Game 3 win and only 13 in the first half of Game 4 — and used a whopping 14-rebound edge in the first half that sparked a 13-0 shutout in second-chance points to build a 21-point lead.
All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey took a backseat to Embiid and took only three shots in the first half. He scored 22 points for the Sixers.
“That can't happen," Maxey said of the slow start. “That's on me. That's just unacceptable by me. I was playing within the flow of the game. It kind of happened that way. It wasn't meant to happen that way.”
Maxey and the Sixers largely tried to get Embiid rolling early.
Embiid had an appendectomy in Houston on April 9 after Philadelphia’s star big man was stricken with appendicitis overnight. He returned to the court Sunday wearing a protective brace around his midsection and was cleared to play about 40 minutes before the scheduled tipoff.
“What am I going to do? Cry about it?” Embiid said of his latest postseason malady.
Whatever emotional lift he provided lasted only minutes into the first quarter.
Pritchard buried a long 3 on one leg to end the first quarter and give Boston a 34-18 lead.
“He’s just a guy that finds the game. He dictates the pace for us,” Celtics coach Joe Mazulla said. "He did a good job of that for himself and others tonight. When we’re at our best, he’s aggressive.”
Embiid shot 3 of 5 in the first quarter while the rest of the Sixers missed 10 of 13 shots.
There were some questions about how Tatum’s return in early March from the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in the playoffs last May would affect the flow of a group that had learned to adjust and thrive without the six-time All-Star.
Instead, Tatum has reacclimated himself in short order and the Celtics are dominating like a team that feels as though the East will go through Boston.
Embiid's gutsy return mattered little, and now the Celtics can clinch the series at home and wait for the winner of the Atlanta Hawks - New York Knicks series.