Staying the course and flipping the point spread 
Game 5 went to the Pennsylvania franchise, plain and simple. The scoreboard read 113-97 for the visitors inside the Massachusetts arena. The series gap is now down to 3-2. Game 6 heads back to Philadelphia. Boston failed to land the first knockout blow. What had been a 13-point lead for Boston was wiped out in brutal fashion.
The bodywork tweak and the fine-tuning of the line-up
A closer look at the individual numbers puts Joel Embiid front and centre. The center posted 33 points and 8 assists in his second straight outing after a medical absence. There was a clear imbalance early on. In the first quarter, he was too often drifting to the perimeter and the output dipped. The tactical switch sent him back into the paint, where he drew fouls and made life miserable for the defence. A brief check on his knee at halftime didn’t stop him from driving the second half physically.
Tyrese Maxey also delivered the kind of night the numbers love, finishing with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds. The second unit brought Quentin Grimes into the mix. He scored 18 in 24 minutes on the floor. His shooting from deep shifted the attack’s rhythm. His defensive effort backed up the outside production from Paul George and VJ Edgecombe.
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The late collapse and the shooting slump
The fourth quarter was a disaster for the Massachusetts side. Philadelphia took the period 28-11. The visitors ripped off a 12-0 run and never looked back. Boston’s reliance on outside shots was punished.
The home side’s late numbers were grim. They managed just 3 made shots from 22 attempts in the final 12 minutes. The books show 16 straight misses to finish the game. Jayson Tatum (24 points, 16 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (22 points) both piled up decent totals, but it meant nothing once Boston’s shot selection fell apart down the stretch.
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