The excitement surrounding Joel Embiid’s Kia MVP ceremony was short-circuited by Boston’s laser-like focus in Game 3.
Joel Embiid was pushed over the brink when his young son Arthur raced onto the court and was carried high by his enormous father. The Philadelphia 76ers center was about to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player award during the pre-Game 3 ceremony when Embiid felt the raucous cheers of the supporters.
At the time when Embiid’s youngster grabbed the show and so many hearts, his parents had already been introduced. That was all it took to make dad cry happily in the moment, the family for whom he works so hard these days.
The Sixers’ fortunes, though, continued to deteriorate as the Boston Celtics defeated them 114-102 on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. With Boston leading 2-1, there’s a potential that Game 4 on Sunday will have a different kind of poignancy since, unless many things change quickly, it might be Philadelphia’s final home game of the year.
Following the Celtics’ triumph, when Embiid held center stage as the contest’s top scorer and rebounder but would have gladly exchanged that for a better result, here are five key takeaways.
1. Boston handled the blood and sweat
With Embiid crying before the game and so many spectators leaving the stadium early, Philadelphia was the one to shed the tears. The Celtics never gave the home team much of a run because they played tougher, had more detailed game plans on both ends, and never gave up.
“The team that’s more focused, with more attention to detail, will usually win in any sport,” asserted Jaylen Brown of Boston, the spearhead of his team’s tough, morphing defense.
The Celtics’ intensity was turned up higher the entire game, despite what Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers and Embiid said about “50-50 balls” and other want-to circumstances that Boston cajoled into happening.
Marcus Smart’s 3-pointer at 8:34 of the second quarter erased the last Sixers advantage. Philadelphia never had the ball with an opportunity to equalize the game or take the lead in the second half. The closest was when Embiid’s 18-footer pulled his side to within 72-69 midway through the third. Brown launched an attack only to be met with a driving layup, one of many swift counterattacks Boston had to stop any long runs.
Then, the hard labor of the Celtics started to drip with perspiration. The blood was particularly noticeable in the fourth quarter when Brown and Grant Williams were involved in a collision with Embiid, who then unintentionally stepped on the back of Williams’ head. With 5:08 remaining, Boston’s backup forward, who had sustained a gash that required blood clotting, said, “Curb-stomped.”
The 300-pound somebody stepping on you is perhaps the scariest thing I’ve ever seen happen on a basketball floor, according to Brown. Grant Williams is the one who “saw his face smashed onto the court and get up with a smile on his face.”
2. Harden initiated this situation
If only James Harden hadn’t carried Philadelphia on a night without Embiid by destroying the Celtics with 45 points, humiliating them even, perhaps he wouldn’t be feeling the full weight of Boston’s defense the way he is.
How difficult was it for the former MVP to pay this price after his outstanding performance in the series opener? The man with the mustache made half of his 14 3-pointers and 17 of his 30 attempts that night. Since then, in the two losses, he has shot a total of 5-of-28, making just two three-pointers out of 13 attempts. The only spot Boston defenders cannot attack him is at the foul line, where 16 of his 28 points have come from.
One type of defensive success is getting Harden to miss. Harden was skipping shots on Friday night because Boston had upped the ante to that point. When he broke toward the basket with a 1-of-7 start, for instance, he never glanced at the hoop and instead swiftly searched for a place to transfer the ball.
Another time, he had an opportunity to shoot from approximately 20 feet away but chose to dribble behind his back instead, perhaps waiting for a Celtic to run over.
Embiid declared that he wants Harden to continue being aggressive and shooting. But the hesitation he showed had to remind 76ers supporters of Ben Simmons.
3. Timely shots by the Celtics
Boston struggled mightily in Game 3. Its shooters had mediocre range, missing 29 of the 45 shots they attempted. But when it meant the most, when Philadelphia attempted to mount a late surge, the Celtics did found their range.
After a time, it became strange how they were able to deflect the Sixers’ blows one after another. Philadelphia’s substitute Georges Niang hit a scoring streak early in the fourth quarter, scoring seven straight goals for the host squad. Marcus Smart and Derrick White, however, broke up his run with buckets of their own.
De’Anthony Melton made it 97-92 by sinking a 3-pointer from the left corner. Malcolm Brogdon of Boston successfully replied from the left flank. Later, with 3:51 left, Embiid tipped in his own miss to make the score 100-94. Al Horford answered with another three, keeping the Sixers at bay by using a ball fake to gain an open look.
Jayson Tatum then scored seven of his team’s final 11 points, compared to Philadelphia’s six.
4. Embiid’s health prevents him from carrying these players
However, it’s very obvious that Embiid is not fully healed from his right knee sprain despite the fact that the big man’s statistics increased and he appeared less out of sync in Game 3. He stated in Boston that a typical injury would last four weeks, but as of right now, he has only been recovering for two.
That is what makes his current situation so challenging. This season, Embiid has frequently carried the Sixers. But because of how poorly his teammates are performing offensively, Boston’s defense is now outnumbering him. He was once surrounded by a triple-team from coach Joe Mazzulla’s squad near the end of the third quarter.
Did the loss ruin Embiid’s memorable MVP night? Most likely not. But it’s unfortunate that they disappointed him right away after he thanked his teammates in his speech for helping to make his honor possible. In addition to Harden, Tyrese Maxey shot 4-of-16, and Tobias Harris scored seven points on just six attempts.
5. Farewell, home-court advantage
It had been 18 days since the Sixers had played at home. They had the longest break of any team going into the conference semifinals, completed their first-round sweep of Brooklyn on the road, and then began this series in Boston.
In other words, their gathering ought to have been prepared for maximum volume and influence. Some of the most boisterous sports fans would have accepted nothing less than a frenzy had the MVP ceremony been included.
Well, they gave it a shot for a time, directing their wrath toward Smart in particular throughout the first half. However, Boston avoided completely succumbing to the anti-hospitality, and as the minutes passed, both the intensity and volume of the vitriol diminished. The majority of people left the stadium by the time the last buzzer sounded, and get this: Sunday’s Game 4 is scheduled as a matinee, which is often less boisterous than night games. Things may not get any better for these people.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
