April 26, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Joel Embiid's return was not enough for the Sixers to even up their first-round best-of-seven series against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 on Sunday.
PHILADELPHIA – At 6:24 p.m. on Sunday night, Sixers fans inside Xfinity Mobile Arena broke into massive applause. Joel Embiid, 17 days removed from undergoing an emergency appendectomy in Houston, ran through the Sixers' tunnel and back into his locker room after about 20 minutes of getting shots up. A few moments later, it became official: the former NBA MVP was back. Public address announcer Matt Cord, in what could be his final game, drew applause when he announced that the Sixers did not have any injuries to report.
Not much later, those fans had been drowned out by ones supporting the Boston Celtics, whose presence could be heard throughout a 128-96 drubbing of the Sixers in Game 4. The Sixers now find themselves on the brink of elimination, trailing Boston 3-1 in this best-of-seven first-round series.
Embiid was not his best self, though in terms of both production and availability, it was hard to quibble with his showing given the circumstances. The rest of his team was nowhere to be found, with very few signs of life or sense of urgency. The Sixers did not protect their home court, dropping back-to-back games in Philadelphia. Boston got solid performances out of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, but neither one needed to do anything special. A collective effort led by Payton Pritchard led the Celtics to an easy victory.
Takeaways from Embiid's return and the Sixers' brutal loss:
Even during his pregame workout, a routine that typically is made up almost exclusively of jump-shooting, Embiid was clearly grimacing on several occasions. No matter what face he put on, the Celtics were going to test Embiid early and often. That is exactly what happened during his first stint, as nearly every action Boston ran offensively targeted Embiid. His limitations as a mover and leaper were evident, but his effort was there. That and strong help defense, combined with a little bit of luck, did the trick early.
Offensively, it was all Embiid to begin the game for the Sixers. He opened the game by drawing a foul on Neemias Queta, who has had issues staying out of foul trouble all series. Embiid was serenaded with chants of "MVP" as he made two free throws. Two minutes later, he drew another foul on Queta, sending Boston's starting center to the bench and earning another two at the line. Before converting a low-post bucket by bullying Nikola Vučević, Embiid threw down a slam in transition:
WELCOME BACK. 😤 pic.twitter.com/QaJ27SsYdO
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 26, 2026
At the game's first timeout, Boston had nine points and Embiid had eight. He looked noticeably hobbled yet considerably better than anticipated, and threw his arms in the air, begging the crowd to make noise.
Embiid's first stint lasted just over seven minutes. Once it was done, his replacement was Andre Drummond, not Adem Bona. Against Vučević, that was a recipe for disaster. Boston rattled off 10 straight points and suddenly Embiid was back on the floor. It did not help matters, as the Celtics ended up with a 16-point lead after the opening frame, which they finished on a 22-5 run. Embiid was imperfect in his return, but when this game began he was the only member of the Sixers with any juice.
In the first half, the Sixers only scored 38 points. They were lucky Boston's lead was only 18. The Celtics left plenty of opportunities on the table, but because of the Sixers' repeated miscues and lack of offensive execution, their margin for error was enormous.
Tyrese Maxey only took three shots in the first half; he was stunningly passive in addition to having issues shaking free from his defenders. Paul George never got going, and neither did VJ Edgecombe. Maxey ticked up his aggression in the second half, but never found any sort of real spark.
The Sixers' only source of decent looks all night long was Embiid, but he cooled off in a major way. Embiid's signature mid-range jumpers clanked off the rim over and over, and he started wearing it emotionally. Embiid only found a rhythm by the time it was too late; the Sixers' offensive Even if he did, it would not have mattered much, as he never got any sort of support elsewhere.
Embiid's final line: 26 points (9-for-21 from the field, 1-for-6 from three-point range, 7-for-9 on free throws), 10 rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes.
An hour before Sunday's game started, a whiteboard in the Sixers' locker room contained three bullet points. The first read: "Whatever it takes to rebound."
Defensive rebounding has been one of this team's primary weaknesses all year, and it sank the Sixers in each of their first two losses this season. Now, it can be mentioned as a primary factor in three playoff defeats. But the Sixers also failed to make any inroads as an offensive rebounding team, where they improved quite a bit this season.
While the Sixers had little to no presence on the glass on either end of the floor, Boston did a tremendous job of limiting the Sixers to one shot – especially impressive given how many Sixers shots were misfired – and the Celtics also gave themselves many chances to add to their lead on the offensive glass.
Even with the best version of Embiid back on the floor, nothing the Sixers have done this season would indicate they are in the same stratosphere as the Celtics as a team. With him playing in such a limited state, that only became more true. In order to be genuinely competitive in this series, the Sixers were going to need to win on the margins. But their inability to hone in on defensive rebounding – oftentimes allowing Celtics crashers to walk into uncontested boards – has given Boston the advantage on the margins. That is a recipe for disaster.
Some additional notes:
• Drummond's first stint was a disaster, and when Sixers head coach Nick Nurse turned back to the veteran in the second quarter, he immediately went down with an injury. Drummond went to the locker room in significant pain and Adem Bona entered the game, but later on in the first half Drummond returned to the bench. In the second half, Drummond was once again on the floor as Embiid's backup despite being forced right back into the matchup that has caused him so much trouble all series. Boston immediately got hot again offensively and Drummond was whistled for a Flagrant 1 Foul.
• Nurse said after Dominick Barlow's first DNP of the season in Game 3 that he had intended to use the 22-year-old at some point that night, but matchup considerations forced him to pull the plug. Barlow is a specialist, and his specialty is playing with Embiid. With Embiid back on the floor, Barlow returned to the rotation. Nurse went from using an eight-man rotation the prior night to going with 10 players right off the bat.
• As brilliant as Edgecombe was in the Sixers' road win in Game 2, it has to be pointed out that the 20-year-old rookie has finally looked like one in all of the other games in this series. Edgecombe has struggled mightily with his shot aside from the one barrage of triples, and has been ineffective inside the arc.
• Boston fans in attendance for this one were loud. This is the second consecutive Sixers playoff series that has featured road fans coming into Philadelphia and having a presence ranging from noticeable to dominant. As the Celtics rained three-pointer after three-pointer, their fans only felt more emboldened to act as if they were inside TD Garden. It is not something that usually happens in this city.
Up next: This series will now head back to Boston. Game 5 is on Tuesday night.
