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76ers-Celtics news: Sixers look to avoid elimination; history isn't on Philly's side; injury updates

A loss in Game 5 tonight and the Sixers' season is over. A win brings the series back to Philly for Game 6.

Joel Embiid and the Sixers need a win tonight in Game 5 against the Celtics to keep their season alive.
Joel Embiid and the Sixers need a win tonight in Game 5 against the Celtics to keep their season alive. Read more
Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
What you should know

  1. The 76ers face the Celtics in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series in Boston Tuesday night. Here's how to watch and stream.

  2. The Celtics lead the series 3-1, and a win tonight would end the Sixers' season. The team knows they need to play "desperate" to win to get the series back to Philly.

  3. Joel Embiid needs to take a backseat to Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe tonight, writes columnist David Murphy.

  4. Edgecombe finished third in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 16 points and nearly 6 rebounds per game.

The Sixers are on the brink

Tyrese Maxey offered the word “desperate” while describing how the 76ers must play Tuesday against the Boston Celtics with their season now on the brink of elimination.

The All-Star point guard also did not have an answer when asked why his team did not already possess that mentality in Sunday’s Game 4, when the Sixers trailed two games to one in the best-of-seven, first-round series and then got blasted by 32 points on their home floor.

“We should have been [desperate],” Maxey said. “We should have been.”

Sixers will need to overcome history to pull off upset

The stakes couldn't be higher for the 76ers tonight; their season will be over if they don't pull out a win against the Celtics in Boston.

A win tonight would force a Game 6 and bring the series back to Philadelphia. But the Sixers still have history to contend with.

The Boston Celtics are a prefect 32-0 when leading a playoff series 3-1, NBC's Mike Tirico noted in Sunday's broadcast.

Sixers-Celtics Game 5: How to watch and stream

Another game, another channel.

The 76ers vs. Celtics series jumps back to ESPN for tonight's Game 5, with tipoff scheduled around 7 p.m. ESPN's No. 1 crew – Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson, and former La Salle standout Tim Legler – will call all the action, with King of Prussia native Lisa Salters reporting from TD Garden.

NBA Tip-Off, featuring Charles Barkley and the Inside the NBA crew, will preview the game beginning at 6 p.m.

Sixers-Celtics: Full playoff schedule

  1. Game 1: Celtics 123, Sixers 91

  2. Game 2: Sixers 111, Celtics 97

  3. Game 3: Celtics 108, Sixers 100

  4. Game 4: Celtics 128, Sixers 96

  5. Game 5: Sixers at Celtics, 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 28 (ESPN)

  6. *Game 6: Celtics at Sixers, Thursday, April 30, TBD

  7. *Game 7: Sixers at Celtics, Saturday, May 2, TBD

* - if necessary

— Rob Tornoe