Joel Embiid: Sixers ‘Must Show Up’ for Game 6 vs. Celtics

Who would’ve guessed?

The 76ers truly are one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, thanks to their 115-113 road win over the Celtics in Game 5 of their second-round series.

That gives the Sixers a 3-2 lead, with Game 6 slated for Thursday in Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid was magnificent with 33 points and Tyrese Maxey was equally impressive with 30. James Harden added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.

But the Sixers can’t relax, and they say they know that. This is the same Celtics team that overcame a 3-2 deficit to beat the Bucks in the East finals last season. And yes, Game 6 was on the road — just like the one in this series.

“It’s not over. We have to get one more,” Embiid told reporters. “All of us. We have to show up.”

The Sixers led early and often, and the final score doesn’t really show how much they utterly dominated. As soon as the Celtics looked as if they may go on a run … well, the Sixers quickly squashed that idea.

“You just have to breathe through it and our guys did that,” coach Doc Rivers said.

As for the Celtics, well, you have to come up with something better than what they failed to deliver on Tuesday. They are now just 9-10 at home in their last 19 playoff games.

“I think we just didn’t have it today,” said Jayson Tatum, who led the Celtics with a game-high 36 points.

But Philadelphia sure did. Now comes a chance to close it out, and Harden indicated the mindset is evident.

“Don’t think too much of it, just go out there and play our brand of basketball,” he said.

EMBIID CHASEDOWN ON BROWN ? pic.twitter.com/XBtZOFxMDm

— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 10, 2023