Joel Embiid’s big return, Payton Pritchard’s big first half and more of what we learned from the Sixers’ Game 4 loss
Embiid posted an impressive 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists only 17 days removed from an emergency appendectomy. While his performance was admirable, it didn't make a difference.
Joel Embiid emerged from the tunnel leading to the 76ers’ locker room to cheers as fans realized there was a real possibility that he would make his NBA playoff debut 17 days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.
He sported a bulky brace under his clothing and it was clear that he wasn’t 100%, but Embiid completed yet another heroic return Sunday night. And it looked like just that as Embiid scored his team’s first eight points in the early moments of the Sixers’ 128-96 Game 4 loss to the Boston Celtics. That stint included a highlight dunk and impressive post finish over Nikola Vučević.
From there, Embiid sputtered, his teammates struggled and it was all Celtics. Payton Pritchard scorched the Sixers with 32 points, Jayson Tatum added 30, and Jaylen Brown had 20.
Embiid finished with an impressive stat line but his 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists didn’t tell the full story of his return. Embiid played well around the basket but couldn’t find his shooting touch and struggled with mobility on defense. The benches were cleared at 5 minutes, 31 seconds in the fourth and the stands were emptied soon after.
None of this was a surprise. Aside from a few practices, Embiid has been sidelined following a major surgery. Before that, he dealt with a shin and oblique injuries. And don’t forget that he underwent offseason knee surgery and made another surprise return on opening night in Boston.
Still, Embiid’s commitment to this team shouldn’t be undersold. He made an effort to appear in a series in which the Sixers are clearly overmatched. And this obviously was not the first time. Add this postseason injury to the list that includes Bell’s Palsy, a knee injury, a torn thumb ligament and an orbital fracture.
This process has become a tradition. Unfortunately for Embiid, the hero’s welcome he received Sunday didn’t match the Sixers’ performance.
Playing with Embiid
When it became clear that Embiid could return for Game 4, conventional wisdom suggested that the Sixers had given the Celtics a dogfight without him and could become a real threat with him. Of course, in order for that to hold firm, all variables would need to remain constant, such as the previous stellar play of Paul George and Tyrese Maxey.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid's strong return wasn't enough, as Sixers lose Game 4 to Celtics; Mike Tirico channels WIP
But neither of them had much of an impact when it mattered. George finished with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Maxey had 22 but his points came when the lead was already out of hand.
During Embiid’s early run of eight straight, there were countless opportunities to get in on the action. Instead, Maxey and George both finished the first quarter with only three points and didn’t stop the bleeding when Pritchard got going.
Pritchard’s hot start
If a glimmer of hope accompanied Embiid’s return to the Sixers, Pritchard extinguished it.
In a game featuring Embiid, Brown, Tatum and Maxey, Pritchard owned the first half.
With the Sixers holding an early 9-8 lead and Embiid headed toward a big night, Pritchard sprung into action. And his emergence, not Embiid’s return, became the story of the first half and helped the Celtics take a 56-38 lead into intermission.
Pritchard scored 18 points in the first half and he let the Sixers hear about it every time, demonstratively talking to the crowd after every one of his four three-pointers. He finished with 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting and a few more highlight crossovers.
Pritchard’s play opened the floodgates after a quiet start from the field for both teams. He started with a two before venturing out and knocking down three first-quarter threes. None was more impressive than the buzzer beater he knocked in off one leg to close the first frame.
By the time Pritchard was done, his team held a 34-18 lead. The Celtics held firm in the second quarter as the rest of the team activated. Brown got in on the action with eight points in the first half and Tatum added five. And characters like Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman even knocked down looks.
Needless to say, the Celtics held serve and took a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the series.
