BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics vs. 76ers Game 5, 7:00 p.m. - A close-out chance at home

BOSTON CELTICS (3-1) at PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (1-3)

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA

Game time: 7:00 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Celtics injury report:

• NO INJURIES TO REPORT

76ers injury report:

• Joel Embiid - PROBABLE (post appendectomy surgery recovery)

• Tyrese Maxey - AVAILABLE (right finger tendon strain - splint)

Preview: The Boston Celtics have a chance to wrap up their first-round series on Tuesday night. After winning two straight games on away turf, they are back home, and the Philadelphia 76ers are on their heels.

Joel Embiid's return didn't go quite according to plan in Game 4, and now, the Sixers' season is on the brink of destruction.

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks are tied at 2-2. The Orlando Magic are up 3-1 on the one-seed Detroit Pistons. The Cleveland Cavaliers were up 2-0, but two straight Toronto Raptors victories tied the series.

A Celtics win on Tuesday would give them a significant rest advantage over their Eastern Conference counterparts.

Tale of the tape: The first four games have been a roller coaster for the Celtics.

Game 1 went swimmingly, as the 76ers failed to convert from beyond the arc. But it was the polar opposite in Game 2.

Boston struggled mightily from deep range as the Sixers -- led by VJ Edgecombe -- caught fire. Philadelphia stole home-court advantage from the Celtics and went back to its turf tied 1-1.

From then on, it's been all Celtics.

Game 3 was a barnburner. Boston squeaked out a 108-100 victory thanks to some clutch shot-making from Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard.

Then, Game 4 was another blowout. Pritchard dominated, posting 32 points, all of which came in the first three quarters of the game. Celtics fans took over Xfinity Mobile Arena, and now, Boston has a chance to close out the series at home.

Game 5 key: Nothing.

If Boston wants to win Game 5, it can't change a thing. Obviously, that's not a literal statement. There are always small game-plan tweaks to make. Adjustments on both ends of the court, shot-profile data to utilize, and lineup experiments.

But the last thing the Celtics need is to think of this game any differently than their other three wins.

"I think, honestly, [we] just have to approach it like we have any of the other games," Baylor Scheierman said at Celtics shootaround on Tuesday morning. "I mean, it's like Joe says, you don't know what the game is going to present tonight, and you just have to be ready for it all. And as long as we control the controllables, I feel like we'll be in a good spot, and I know we're excited to get out there tonight."

That's what's carried the Celtics to this point. They never get too high. Never too low.

It's what has stood out most to Nikola Vucevic since he was traded to Boston at the deadline this year.

"The most important thing [is that], no matter what's going on, there's no huge swing of emotions," Vucevic said after Game 4. "We won Game 1. Played great. It was [onto the] next game. We lost Game 2, didn't play as well. OK, what can we do different? Game 3, won. Great. Game 4, we win now, I know it's still [just] move on to the next one. 

“So, I think just, obviously, the experience they have, just stay in the middle ground, and understanding that there's always next game. It's never over. But I think that, even throughout games, when they'd have runs, when things wouldn't go our way, we just stay calm and don't overreact, and that's very important.”

And for Scheierman, that level-headedness has been easy to adapt to.

"It's been a pretty natural thing for me coming in. I think, as a competitor, you have to just be able to flush each game and move on to the next, regardless how it goes for you. Because each game is going to present something different, and it's no different in the playoffs, and that's what we've done so far, and what we'll have to continue to do."

Losing on Tuesday night would mean a trip back to Philadelphia. Multiple flights. Two more days of travel. Fewer rest days between series.

A Game 5 win would give the Celtics a massive boost in their quest to win a championship this season.