BSJ Game Report: Celtics 121, Sixers 87 - Defense keys Boston blowout in Embiid's return

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' Game 2 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

In an opposite start to the last game, the Celtics and Sixers missed everything and went to the line a bunch in a more defensive battle to start. Jaylen Brown was still great early, though, and his 13 points got them an early lead. It grew to 12 in the second quarter but the Celtics really poured it on in the third behind a 19-5 run. The fourth quarter was mostly garbage time. Joel Embiid returned, but had little impact. This is the 15th straight game a home playoff team has won after losing the first game of a series.

Box Score

HEADLINES

That's more like it: Just like I said before the game, the Celtics are scary when things are looking good for them, but they tend to respond when there's adversity. They came out in this game and defended much better than they did in Game 1, they actually finished quarters well, and they were able to take advantage of a rusty, fatigued Joel Embiid to blow things open. They need a win like this. 

Strong defensive effort: Embiid was clearly limited, but he had his moments. Still, Al Horford, Grant Williams, and Marcus Smart all took turns bothering him defensively. They stuck to Harden pretty well (well, everyone except Malcolm Brogdon), and they limited the role players in a big way. This is the formula for beating Philly.

Winning the margins: Boston won the bench battle 54-26. They took 13 more shots in the game, 21 more 3-pointers (making 14 more). They had an edge in points in the paint, fastbreak points, and second-chance points. 

Feels like a Philly series now: With Embiid back, it really felt like the classic Celtics-Sixers matchup that we’re used to. The pace was more familiar as opposed to Game 1 where it was more uptempo. I know it’s weird to say because Embiid just won the MVP, but Boston matches up better against Philly with Embiid in there because of how the Sixers have to play with him on the floor. 

TURNING POINT

Derrick White’s 3-pointer with 4:01 to go in the third started an avalanche that turned a 13 point game into a 29 point game over just a few minutes. The game went from “oh, Sixers have a chance with some defense” to “throw the damn towel” in a hurry. 

FIVE UP

Jaylen Brown: He was rolling early and kept it going beyond the first quarter. His 25 points led the Celtics but the first thing everyone wanted to talk about after the game was Brown’s defense to start the game. He picked up Harden and did a really good job limiting him in the early going. Brown set a tone on both ends and it carried over to the rest of the guys. 

“We gotta tip our hats to JB. He started the whole momentum for us,” Smart said “He came out right away and he set the tone and we just had to follow his lead. When you got one of your best players setting the tone like that, it’s hard not to follow.”

Marcus Smart: He had everything going early on, taking as many shots as Brown and Jayson Tatum combined at one point, but he was making them (15 points on 7-14 shooting). Oh, and he caught a ridiculous alley-oop. 

He left at one point because Joel Embiid fell on him, and it looked like he might have suffered a serious shoulder injury, but it turned out to be a stinger. 

Malcolm Brogdon: Monster game off the bench with 23 points on 7-15 shooting (6-10 3pt). He was part of that third-quarter roll that broke the game open. 

Derrick White: Good to see him find his shot. He took 6 3-pointers, hitting half of them, to help make up for a rough night from Tatum. 

Grant Williams: Finally in a matchup that suited him better, Williams did a good job on both ends of the floor. Not only was he part of a strong defensive effort, he was 4-8 from deep. 

“We definitely missed that Grant,” Smart said. “We’re constantly letting him know that we need that Grant. Grant is a big, big part of the equation for us and he’s going to help us win a lot of games. And we’re going to need him. We’re going to need him to stay confident and we’re going to need him to play exactly how he played tonight.”

TWO DOWN

Jayson Tatum: Rough night for Tatum who was mired in foul trouble from the get-go. He finished with only 7 points on 1-7 shooting. 

Al Horford (on offense): I thought his defense on Embiid was pretty good and he finished with two blocks and a steal. However, his 2-10 shooting night, particularly his 1-8 from 3 is not great considering a lot of them were pretty open. Horford’s postseason shooting has grown from shooting variance to at least mild concern. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Boston matches up better when the Sixers play Embiid

The Celtics weren’t taking the bait when I asked them about this because no one on the team wants to say it, but I will. 

The Celtics are better when Embiid is on the floor for the Sixers.

With Embiid in the lineup, the Celtics get to deploy Horford in a much more useful role as the primary defender. Horford has always had a knack for checking Embiid and making him at least a little uncomfortable. Grant Williams got a crack as well and he got to show his value as well. 

“I basically said to him, ‘I'm here to make you frustrated and continue to make this hard for you every single night,’” Williams said. “That's my role and how I play.  … You have tremendous respect for him but at the same time, you're the ultimate competitor. Try to make every single thing hard, even walking up the floor. I think we did a good job of that tonight. Me and Al did a good job kind of one-two punching him and making him work for everything.”

With Horford and Williams in more comfortable roles, the rest of the defenders could focus on their assignments, and they did so very well. I know it’s weird to say the Celtics want the league MVP on the floor to make things easier on their defense, but that's how it goes with this Celtics team. 

Without Embiid, the Sixers let James Harden do his thing and guys like Tyrese Maxey can flow off that, as will other role players. With Embiid, Harden doesn’t get into any kind of comfort zone, and that trickles down to the rest of the group. 

So as long as they want to throw Embiid out there, I’m all for it. Because not only do the matchups work out better, Embiid isn’t anywhere close to being healthy.

“I was supposed to be out for 4 to 6 weeks so I’m not going to be 100 percent for the whole time or I’m not going to be fully healed for the whole time,” Embiid admitted after the game. “I felt pretty good to play and I felt like I could help the team defensively and offensively. … Probably rusty and not myself but I feel like we got this out of the way and I’m disappointed about a loss but that’s a step towards getting back to myself.”

Those steps aren’t going to come fast enough to help the Sixers in this series. If Philadelphia insists on throwing this version of Embiid out there, the Celtics should send Doc Rivers a fruit basket and flowers. 

Philly’s best chance of winning this series is to sit Embiid, put Horford in a blender, and get Grant Williams off the floor. I doubt anyone has the guts to do it.

Next up: Game 3 is Friday night at 7:30 p.m.