joel embied returns philadelphia 76ers‘ lineup for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, but the host Boston Celtics Got a game-high 25 points from Jaylen Brown and earned a 121–87 win to even the best-of-seven series
second preference Celtics led by eight at halftime and took control of the game in the third quarter when they shut out the third-seeded 76ers 35-16 for a 92-65 advantage in the fourth
Malcolm came off the bench to toss in 23 points for Brogdon. CelticsLeading scorer Jayson Tatum finished the game with seven points in 19 minutes, which secured the win. Marcus Smart (15 points), Derrick White (15) and Grant Williams (12) also scored in double figures for Boston, which made 20 of its 51 (39.2 percent) 3-point attempts.
Embiid, who was named the NBA’s MVP on Tuesday, sprained his lateral collateral ligament on April 20 during Game 3 of Philadelphia’s first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. He didn’t play in Game 4, when 76ers Completed a four game sweep of the Nets. He also sat out Philadelphia’s 119-115 Game 1 win over Boston on Monday.
Embiid finished Game 2 with 15 points and five blocks in 27 minutes. He averaged 33.1 points per game during the regular season to win his second straight scoring title.
Tobias Harris led Philadelphia with 16 points. James Harden, who scored 45 points in Game 1, scored 12 in Game 2 76ers Were 6 of 30 (20 percent) from behind the 3-point arc
Celtics led 28–22 after one quarter and extended their lead to 12 points—their largest lead of the first half—when an Al Horford 3-pointer made it 50–38 with 4:41 remaining in the second quarter . 76ers missed 12 of their 13 3-point attempts in the first half and trailed 57–49 entering the third quarter
Boston took off from there, leading by 36.
The series will continue on Friday with Game 3 in Philadelphia.
– Field Level Media