PHILADELPHIA — The Celtics understand, much like the rest of the NBA, that 76ers star Joel Embiid is inevitable. This season, more than ever, he is capable of putting his team on his wide shoulders and carrying it to a fulfilling end.
So earlier Tuesday, anticipating that Embiid would eventually start rolling, Celtics coaches talked about how long they would stick with their game plan to stop him before transitioning to something more urgent.
As the game unfolded, Embiid was doing what he pleased, when he pleased. Mid-range jumpers, tough finishes inside. Despite this mastery, though, the shorthanded Celtics remained within reach all night. And with three minutes left and the score tied, they decided to finally attempt to turn off the faucet.
On consecutive possessions, the Celtics threw two and then three defenders at Embiid when he caught the ball at the free throw line. Both times he slid passes to P.J. Tucker, who calmly drilled 3-pointers from the left corner. A minute later, he did it again.
The Celtics made an unlikely comeback after trailing by 7 points with just six seconds left, but Jayson Tatum’s potential game-tying shot at the buzzer was off, allowing the 76ers to escape with a 103-101 win.
Embiid, whose masterful night in a nationally televised game may have helped him lock up the MVP award he has been pining for, finished with 52 points on 20-of-25 shooting. He added 13 rebounds and 6 assists, none bigger than his last three.
“It was like a 2- to 3-point swing the entire fourth quarter, and you just decide you’re going to make a small adjustment,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “And credit to them. They made those three big shots that kind of took the game from us.”
With the loss, the Celtics (54-25) slid three games behind the first-place Bucks with just three remaining. One more Milwaukee win or Boston loss will clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the Bucks. Mazzulla has defiantly pushed forward despite the long odds, stressing that he just wants his team to win as many games and play as well as possible. He did not veer from that after this loss.
“Every game, especially here on out, is going to give us something that we need to help us get to where we want to get to,” he said. “It’s very important we try to win every single game.”
The 76ers entered the game at home, at full strength, with an MVP favorite on a mission, against a Celtics team missing starters Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams. There was a sense that if Philadelphia, which was 0-3 against Boston this season, could not win this one, it would never find a way. With the teams careening toward a likely second-round playoff matchup, that felt important.
Oddly enough, even though the 76ers grabbed that elusive victory, the extremes that were required may have left them feeling even less confident about their playoff chances against these Celtics.
“Their best player battled for them, had [52] points,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “We’re shorthanded. So, you tip your hat off to those guys.”
The 76ers led by 6 points when Embiid checked out after one quarter. That lead vanished when he returned midway through the second. They led by 5 points when he sat down to start the fourth, and trailed by 2 when he returned a few minutes later.
The weight on his shoulders was massive, but time and again it appeared he would be able to handle it.
With the Celtics leading, 88-84, Embiid drained a 16-footer with 4:19 left before converting a 3-point play on his team’s next possession, putting the 76ers back in front, 89-88.
“I think the whole league’s trying to figure that out [how to stop him] right now,” Celtics guard Derrick White (26 points) said. “So, if you got any ideas, every other NBA team would like to know.”
After hitting Tucker for the two 3-pointers, Embiid roared down the lane for a dunk that made it 98-92 with 1:22 left. His two free throws with 9.8 seconds left gave the 76ers a seemingly insurmountable 103-96 lead.
But Smart scored inside as he was fouled with 5.8 seconds left. He intentionally missed the ensuing free throw and gathered the rebound before Horford found White for a 3-pointer as he was fouled, making it 103-101 with two seconds left. The 76ers successfully challenged the foul call, however.
After a timeout, Embiid was called for an offensive foul when he and Grant Williams tangled, giving Boston one last, improbable chance. The pass came to Tatum, who was just 7 for 20 from the field and scored 19 points, but his off-balance fadeaway from the right corner was long.
“My momentum was taking me away from the basket,” Tatum said. “I just had to get a quick shot up.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
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Celtics come up just short of an improbable win after MVP-inspired Joel Embiid scores 52 - The Boston Globe
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