The Boston Celtics were unable to secure a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, April 4, as they succumbed to an MVP-level performance from Joel Embiid.
When speaking to the media as part of his post-game press conference Sixers head coach Doc Rivers discussed the difficulties his team faced throughout the game, noting how Philadelphia’s defense was poor for stretches of the game before accusing the Celtics of flopping on contact down the stretch.
“We were trying to give them the game back,” Rivers said. “I mean, we really tried. We did a lot of things that you can’t do, from pulling in from the corner, which we never do. I think we did it four times; they scored on three of them. But they had another one, fouling a guy on a layup. We went through the whole laundry list. Falling out of bounds at the end of the game where you know they’re not going to give it to you.
Knowing that the Celtics flop, you know that they were going to do that at the end; we said that in the timeout. Not paying attention when the guys on the free throw line, which is clearly, I mean, we had the whole gambit. So in some ways, it was a good way to win because it gave us material in a crazy way, to hit home about all the little points.”
Embiid came away from the contest with an impressive statline of 52 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists while shooting 80% from the field on 20-of-25 shooting.
Jayson Tatum Credits Embiid’s Performance
During his own post-game press conference, Jayson Tatum discussed Embiid’s incredible showing, revealing how the Celtics found the big man difficult to guard throughout the game.
“I mean, s***, I wasn’t guarding him, but he had a good game, obviously,” Tatum said. “He willed his team to a victory.”
Joe Mazzulla Rues Poor Offensive Showing
With Jaylen Brown missing Boston’s game due to lower back pain, the Celtics’ offense struggled to reach their usual lofty highs, which is something head coach Joe Mazzulla believes impacted the Celtics’ chances of sweeping the season series against the Sixers.
What more could have been done to stop Embiid?
Joe Mazzulla weighs in on Joel Embiid’s 52-PT night
“If [PJ] Tucker doesn’t make those three threes, it’s a completely different game. Or if we let Embiid keep going, maybe he misses a couple. You don’t know,” Mazzulla said. “But I thought our guys competed. I thought they were very detailed in keeping him off the free-throw line. I thought he just had a great night, and we weren’t tremendous on the offensive end like we normally are.”
The Celtics will now shift their focus toward the Toronto Raptors, who they will face on April 5, in what will be the second game of a back-to-back for the Celtics while also being one of their final three games of the season.
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Doc Rivers Takes Shot at Celtics After Sixers Win