76ers rout Celtics on road, earn chance to clinch series at home

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Joel Embiid scored 33 points and the Philadelphia 76ers easily took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the Boston Celtics 115-103 on Tuesday night.

The 76ers led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter as home fans booed the Celtics, and can close out the series and advance to the conference finals when they host Game 6 on Thursday night.

It was the third straight 30-point game in the series for Embiid, who also had seven rebounds, four blocks and three 3-pointers.

Tyrese Maxey added 30 points and six 3-pointers. James Harden finished with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

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Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics defends Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter of game five of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at TD Garden on May 09, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 36 points but was just 11 of 27 from the field. Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points. The Celtics went 12 of 38 from the 3-point line.

The previous two occasions the 76ers were in a second-round series that was tied 2-2, they were blown out in Game 5 — a 36-point loss to Toronto in 2019 and 35-point loss to Miami last season.

Not this time.

The 76ers led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter and took an 88-72 lead into the fourth.

A quick flurry by the Celtics cut the deficit to 11, but Philadelphia responded with a 10-2 run to push it back up to 102-83.

Philadelphia made a concerted effort to get the ball to Embiid in the post from the outset. He was able to knock down midrange jumpers,