PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 23 and the Boston Celtics spoiled Joel Embiid’s MVP coronation, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-102 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.
Embiid had 30 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back from a sprained right knee after receiving his MVP trophy in a pregame ceremony. James Harden followed his 2-of-14 effort in a Game 2 loss with 3-for-13 shooting for 16 points.
The Sixers pulled within five on De’Anthony Melton’s 3-pointer to get the crowd back into the game for all of 20 seconds before Malcolm Brogdon countered with a 3 to give Boston a 100-92 lead. Al Horford crushed the Sixers again — as he has most of his career — when he buried a 3 for a seven-point lead.
Embiid, forced to try and win it alone without any serious offensive helped, missed a pull-up 18-footer and Tatum drained a jumper that all but put the game away. Tatum hit one more 3 for good measure and the Celtics seized control of the series.
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