A Boston Celtics legend is sending a warning to his former team after the Philadelphia 76ers took another game in the series on Tuesday night.
“The Celtics gotta be careful,” said former NBA guard Paul Pierce. “This version of Joel Embiid can cause major problems.”
For the first time in weeks, Joel Embiid took the court on Sunday for Game 4. Just a couple of weeks removed from getting surgery, Embiid hoped to help the Sixers tie the first-round series up 2-2. Instead, his presence was hardly a factor.
The 76ers were dominated by double-digits for the second time in the series. Many believed that a gentleman’s sweep was on deck for Philadelphia. Throughout the first half of Game 5, the Sixers didn’t look like a team with a ton of urgency.
But then Joel Embiid put together a masterclass in the second half. Now, it’s a different series.
Paul Pierce Makes A Statement On Joel Embiid
“He started off settling for the three because Boston was letting him shoot the three,” Pierce said on No Fouls Given.
“He was wide open on really all his threes, but when he got into the block, it just his gravitational pull and then if he’s knocking those mid-range moves he’s doing. And it’s like, at some point, you got to help then it opens up the shooters. They played four around one in the fourth quarter, and when the game was in the balance, Boston just couldn’t get a stop, and Philadelphia ran away with it. You can’t give a team like Philly confidence because when you give them confidence, they have a lead late in the game, they feed off of that.”
In the second half, Embiid avoided taking shots from three, where he missed every attempt in the first two quarters.
The star center produced 18 points, while putting up three assists and coming down with two rebounds.
The 76ers ended up shocking the hoops world as they defeated the Celtics 113-97.
Embiid finished the game with 33 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and one block.
The 76ers and the Celtics will meet on Thursday, April 30, for Game 6.