‘Vintage’ Joel Embiid Shows Out For Huge Game 5 Performance To Extend Series Against Celtics
Apr 28, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) checks the board during a break against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter during game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Joel Embiid continues to face the toughest battles, and yet he somehow finds a way to show the world that he’s still a top basketball player when it matters.
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t think the 76ers had a chance in the world of winning Game 5 and extending their first-round series against the Celtics. I, like many people, thought there was no chance the 76ers would make it a series against Boston, but here we are, with the 76ers trailing by just a game and heading back to Philadelphia for Game 6.
After getting blown out at home, it seemed like the 76ers were destined to die a warrior’s death with a gentleman’s sweep in the TD Garden. However, Embiid said not on his watch, and just 19 days removed from appendectomy surgery, the process put on a vintage performance to help drive the 76ers to a Game 5 win.
Embiid scored a game-high 33 points in the 76ers’ 113-97 win, adding four rebounds and eight assists, the second most he’s recorded in a game this year. Embiid scored or assisted on 54 of the 76ers’ 113 points during Game 5, and the 33 points marked the 22nd 30-point playoff game in Embiid’s career.
It was an all-time night for Embiid, who continues to defy the odds when it comes to rehabbing injuries and projected timelines for said injuries. Embiid had open surgery less than three weeks ago to remove his appendix, and somehow has produced back-to-back 25+ point games.
“He was very, very good [Monday],” head coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “Give him a lot of credit, he worked really hard to get back through this. To have the procedure that he had, he played a lot of minutes, and I was super impressed with him on the defensive end [Monday] as well.”
His defense was a great example of the fantastic defense the entire 76ers played as a team, holding the Celtics to just 40 points in the second half, with only 11 coming in the fourth quarter. They also held Boston to only 11 three-point makes and 39 total threes taken, both a low for the Celtics in this series.
“They only got up to 39 [total] threes,” Embiid said postgame. “We don’t want them to get up more than that, so we gotta keep guarding the three-point line. I thought [Monday] we did a way better job of that, over-helping, just guarding our men, and limiting them to choose [two-point shots]. We just kept playing our game. We got to focus on defense, and I thought we did a better job [Monday].”
Embiid’s presence on the floor was a massive difference maker for this team. It shows that when the big man is in the middle, helping this team play winning basketball, he brings the best out of people and, according to Nurse, just boosts the confidence level of the rest of the team and brings the best out of the rest of the lineup.
“I think it gave us a ton of confidence,” Nurse said. “We talked about it during one of the time-outs that we got to go through Joel in the post, because now they’re starting to send people, and from here on out, we’re going to get somebody an open look if we make the right decisions. I think that gives the team a lot of confidence, knowing there’s something and someone you can go to.”
While the performance from Embiid looks good in the box score, the stats don’t always paint the whole picture, as it really was a tale of two halves for the big man. While Embiid posted 15 points, five assists, and two rebounds at the break, he shot an atrocious 5-for-13 from the field and 0-for-5 from three.
In the second half, Embiid forgot about the three-point line, deciding to attack the paint and the middle of the court, and dominated down low against the Celtics’ big men, who were unable to stop Embiid from working his magic. He scored 18 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, and didn’t attempt a single three-pointer in the second half. From tough layups to his vintage Hakeem Olajuwon dream shake, Embiid looked unguardable down the stretch to help the 76ers to victory.
He adjusted on the fly and showed that even just three weeks removed from surgery, Embiid did whatever he had to do to help the 76ers pull out the Game 5 win and bring the series back to South Philadelphia.
“Coming into the game, the game plan was to get up, get up a lot of threes. I kind of got sucked into that game plan, and I miss a couple of ones, and you just got to adjust,” Embiid said. “I just started going inside and found some luck. I found my rhythm in the second half. I had time, I feel good. We got to win, and that’s all that matters.”
It’s a shame that you can’t turn off injuries in the NBA like you can in video games and make it so injuries aren’t possible because a Joel Embiid who didn’t have to worry about injuries and wasn’t made of glass would truly be one of the greatest players of all time.
He shows you that even with an open wound from surgery, he can still score like the best of them. Embiid continues to define the odds and post MVP performances, something that many thought was a thing of the past. It’s still an uphill battle for Embiid and the 76ers to pull off the series win, but with the process in the middle, anything is possible.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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