BOSTON — Old habits die hard for these Celtics.

In the era of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, all too often they have let opponents off the mat, giving them life when they should be home resting for the next round. It has come back to bite them in years past, when their tendency to go away from what has worked for them all season ultimately costs them not just the game but a series.

In Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, with a chance to end the series at home, the Celtics resorted to 1-on-1 play down the stretch, reverting from the egalitarianism that has gotten them to this point, turning a 13-point third-quarter lead into a 113-97 loss. Now, the Sixers take a 3-2 series deficit home to Philadelphia.

“There’s a human element to it,” Tatum said of his team’s woes. “We’re not perfect.”

And the Sixers do have life. They have reason to believe they can win this series if only they can win a single game at home (they dropped both Games 3 and 4 in Philly).

And that reason’s name is Joel Embiid.

Less than three weeks removed from an appendectomy, the one-time NBA MVP amassed 33 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds over 39 minutes of Tuesday’s victory. When combined with All-NBA point guard Tyrese Maxey, who collected 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, the Sixers have the firepower to match Tatum and Brown.

“He was dominant,” Maxey said of Embiid. “He did a really good job of just inserting himself. I was proud of him. That’s the dominance you go into a playoff game with.”

“I feel pretty good about my chances of going 1-on-1 with anyone in this league,” said Embiid, whose injuries held him to 38 games this year. “I don’t think I can be stopped.”

It wasn’t just Embiid’s numbers that were impressive. He was a force in the post against Boston’s big combination of Neemias Queta, Nikola Vučević and Luka Garza, and when he drew double teams, he sprayed the ball out to Philadelphia’s shooters, who were all too happy to shoot freely from the space provided by Embiid’s gravity.

“It gave us a ton of confidence,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse. “We talked about it in one of the timeouts. We have to go through Jo in the post, because now they’re starting to send people, and from here on out somebody should get an open look.”

There is no reason to believe that he cannot be a force again in Game 6 on Thursday, other than the fact we have so rarely seen Embiid put together prolonged stretches of dominance in the playoffs. But he does not need to be dominant for any extended stretch to scare these Celtics. He only needs to show up for one more night to force a Game 7 on Saturday, when anything can happen, even for these hit-or-miss Sixers.

“I pushed hard to come back and try to help as much as I can,” said Embiid. “I didn’t want to go home and think about all summer what could have been if I was healthy going into the playoffs. So, one more day, one more game to go out and try to make it back here [to Boston]. That’s the mentality. I’m just thankful to be in position to play. I don’t know how long I can do this, so I just want to enjoy it as much as possible.”

And that’s the problem. The Celtics, who have touted themselves as “the harder-playing team all season,” were not that in Game 5, relying instead on pure talent — a tendency that worked fine when it was clear they had more talent, when their role players were one-time stars named Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford.

They are all gone now. In their place are guys like Queta, Sam Hauser and Jordan Walsh, all of whom have played beyond expectations this season, if only because they played so damn hard all season. So, for this team to resort to the stagnation that has plagued them for years in the highest-pressure situations is disappointing.

"It just wasn't good enough from us," said Brown.

It was the sort of performance that makes you think, if the Celtics can blow this one to these Sixers, they can easily blow a series, even to an inferior team, which is precisely what happened to them in 2025 against the New York Knicks and in 2023 against the Miami Heat. And this problem has plagued them since well before then.

Whether the Sixers can be that team to catch them off guard remains to be seen. But they believe they can now, and that is the problem. The Celtics gave them life.

And that’s an issue going forward, even if they survive this series, because they had a golden opportunity to rest when their rivals were still playing. The Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers were both deadlocked 2-2 in their series going into the evening, while the Detroit Pistons trailed their series against the Orlando Magic 3-1.

And, yes, these Celtics could have used the rest. Tatum is 11 months removed from surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Brown has played on full tilt all season. That is what this year has required. The Celtics cannot play with their food; they’re not good enough anymore. They win on guts and lacked them in Game 5.

The first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs have been so wild that they demand some power rankings in one form or another. We cannot sit idly by while the top-seeded Detroit Pistons are in danger of losing in the opening round or Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets face elimination. We have to sort them, putting some order into the chaos.

So, we decided on Panic Meter Power Rankings, sorting the 16 teams from least to most concerned about their first-round series, about the future — about everything.

16. Oklahoma City Thunder

The NBA’s defending champions hold a 3-0 series lead against the eighth seeds. It would be shocking if they were to lose a game in the first round. That said, they are not without concern, as Jalen Williams is week-to-week with a left hamstring strain. Not that they need him against Phoenix. But hamstring strains are no joke. They tend to linger, especially for someone who has experienced lingering injuries all season.

15. Boston Celtics

The Celtics took both games in Philadelphia, including Game 4 by 32 points — their second 32-point win of the series — and carry a 3-1 lead back to Boston on Tuesday. It looks like it's shaping up to be OKC/Boston. The most likely outcome, it appears, and BetMGM agrees, is that the last two champs meet in the NBA Finals. That hasn’t happened since 2018.

14. San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs hold a 3-1 lead, and the only one they lost was the one in which Victor Wembanyama smacked his chin against the hardwood, suffering a concussion. He’s back now, as good as ever, finishing a +28 in 34 minutes of a decisive Game 4 win. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are incredible. They are the best young nucleus in the game, and that includes the Thunder. They just have to keep Wemby healthy.

13. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers should hope Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves return soon, because if Kevin Durant beats them back, the Rockets could get on a roll that Los Angeles does not want to be a part of. And, yes, I am implying that they could become the first team ever to lose a series when leading 3-0. These Rockets have it in them, if they can just catch fire, but the return of Dončić or Reaves should pour water on them.

12. Portland Trail Blazers

What do the Blazers have to worry about? Sure, they will lose to the Spurs, probably in five games. But nobody figured them for the second round anyhow. A lot of folks didn’t have them penciled in for the seventh seed, either. But Deni Avdija is a Playoff Guy, as his downhill game translates to a postseason style of play. And they have the defense, too. They just need one more (big) piece. Will a new owner spend to get it?

11. Orlando Magic

The Magic were left for dead two weeks ago. Coach Jamahl Mosley was sure to be fired. But they have resuscitated themselves. They dominated the Hornets in the second play-in tournament game and stole a 2-1 lead against the top-seeded Pistons in the first round, looking a lot like the team everyone expected at the start of the season, tough and connected. Would an upset be enough to save Mosley’s job?

10. Phoenix Suns

The Suns outperformed expectations all season. They’ve just met a Thunder team that is deeper and better constructed. They found something in Jordan Ott, a coach who instilled a winning culture when there was none. Same goes for Dillon Brooks. He brought an attitude to this team. Now, they need more talent. How they get it without control of their draft picks and much financial flexibility is another question.

9. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors managed to even things up in their first-round series with the Cavaliers, and that’s all anyone could ask for in Toronto, where they have a ton of good players and not a great one. Giannis Antetokounmpo, anyone? The Blazers, who should make a run at the two-time MVP, will have competition for his services. But first Toronto must finish a first-round series, where a win would be gravy on a wholesome season.

8. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks, without Trae Young, who they traded for scraps, are locked in a 2-2 series with the third-seeded Knicks. One of those scraps was the expiring contract of CJ McCollum, who has earned a new contract in Atlanta. Might they be a Giannis suitor? The playoffs have certainly boosted the market for the superstar’s services. Can the Hawks bounce back from a blowout in Game 4 to extend their audition even further?

7. Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers have performed about as well as could have been expected, given the fact they weren’t even guaranteed a playoff spot. They have largely been without Joel Embiid, whose contract may be the worst in the league. He returned for Game 4, but his inability to play defense two weeks from an appendectomy was not a shock. Philadelphia continues to ride with Embiid, for better or worse. Mostly worse.

6. New York Knicks

The Knicks, whose owner James Dolan issued a Finals-or-bust ultimatum this season, do not look like serious title contenders, as they are deadlocked with the Hawks through four games. Coach Mike Brown’s offense is sputtering at times, and there are inherent defensive issues within the pick-and-roll combination of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. They have limitations, and they are hitting them.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Yes, the Timberwolves hold a 3-1 lead over the Nuggets. And, yes, they have played a terrifying brand of defense against the NBA’s 2023 champions. But they lost Donte DiVincenzo for the remainder of the season to an Achilles tear and Anthony Edwards for multiple weeks to a knee injury. Games 5 and 7 are in Denver. Even if they can survive, what chance do they have of competing against San Antonio sans Edwards?

4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did not issue an ultimatum, but everyone knows the deal. If this core cannot make the conference finals, they have no chance of staying together next season. They already flipped 26-year-old Darius Garland for a 36-year-old James Harden, and if that doesn’t work out — especially if the Cavs lose in the first round — that could spell disaster in Cleveland. Yet, three teams have it worse.

3. Houston Rockets

Barring the first-ever comeback from a 3-0 series deficit in the NBA, the Rockets will lose to a Lakers team that is missing both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. There is shame in losing to a 41-year-old LeBron James, even if Kevin Durant has missed three of the four games in the series. Big changes are on the horizon in Houston. Could head coach Ime Udoka be the first to go in the event of a first-round exit?

2. Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets lost Game 4 to a Timberwolves team that had lost DiVincenzo and Edwards to injury over the course of the evening, falling behind 3-1 in their series. They still have a shot, but they are too dependent on Aaron Gordon’s health to seriously consider navigating the gauntlet that is Minnesota, San Antonio and Oklahoma City. They are failing Jokić, and that cannot happen. Major shakeup in Denver, too?

1. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons had a flaw and failed to address it. They could have chased Michael Porter Jr., or Lauri Markkanen, or someone who could create when defenses collapse onto Cade Cunningham. But they rode with their roster, and now they’re facing a 2-1 deficit against an Orlando team that has just looked better than them. Might the East pass the Pistons by without them ever getting a chance to compete?

One-time NBA MVP Joel Embiid returned to the court just 17 days after undergoing an appendectomy, but even his 26 points could not inspire the Philadelphia 76ers in a 128-96 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series.

The Celtics lead the best-of-seven set, 3-1.

Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 32 points off the bench for the Celtics (two points shy of Kevin McHale’s franchise-record 34 playoff points off the bench).

Jayson Tatum came within three rebounds of a triple-double, totaling 30 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 20 points and 7 rebounds for Boston.

Embiid’s 26 points led the Sixers, who also got 22 from Tyrese Maxey.

Now, the takeaways.

Payton Pritchard, spark plug

Pritchard, the NBA’s 2025 Sixth Man of the Year, sparked a bench barrage.

The Celtics guard scored 13 of his 32 points in the opening quarter, even converting a signature buzzer-beater at the end of the first, as his team took an early 34-18 lead.

The Celtics combined to score 24 points off the bench in the opening quarter, the most ever in the play-by-play era. Boston’s reserves combined to shoot 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the frame. Pritchard hit three of them, including the buzzer-beater.

The Celtics needed the minutes, too, at least from their bigs, since Neemias Queta got into early foul trouble, working opposite Embiid. Both Nikola Vučević and Luka Garza played admirably off the bench, forcing Embiid to cover them out to the arc.

Boston’s bench outscored its Philadelphia counterparts, 55-24.

Joel Embiid makes his series debut

Embiid looked a lot like Embiid, which is to say he was laboring a bit. Understandable, considering he is less than three weeks removed from an appendectomy, his latest bizarre injury. But let’s not pretend he did not look a lot like this in the regular season, playing 1,200 minutes over 38 games on a surgically repaired left knee and right foot.

Embiid looking like Embiid also meant he was ever-present for stretches, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. He did average a 27-8-4 in the regular season.

It was a good thing for the first seven minutes. He scored Philadelphia’s first eight points and ignited the home crowd, even staking the Sixers to an early 13-12 edge.

It was not a good thing for the rest of the game. Embiid totaled 26 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, but he had no wind for defense. He could not guard over the space necessary to compete with Boston’s shooters, who drilled a franchise-record 24 of their 53 3-point attempts.

Tatum, Brown own the third quarter

That the Celtics led by 18 at halftime was somewhat of a surprise, given how Tatum and Brown had performed to that point. They combined for just 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting in the opening two quarters, as Boston’s bench carried the offense instead.

That was a bad sign for the Sixers, who could hold the Jays down for only so long.

Tatum and Brown scored Boston’s first 22 points of the third quarter, as the Celtics stretched their lead to 30. Tatum scored 13 of them in the opening eight minutes of the second half. (This is where we remind you he is 11 months removed from Achilles surgery.) Neither played the final minutes of a second blowout in this series’ four games.

Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, one of few legitimate title contenders, are on the brink of elimination in the first round of these playoffs.

They trail the Minnesota Timberwolves, another championship contender, 3-1 in a best-of-seven set. Except, the Wolves lost both Anthony Edwards (left knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (right Achilles) to injury over the course of Saturday’s 112-96 win.

Which begs the question: Do either of these teams have what it takes to win a title?

Either team would have to, most likely, march through the San Antonio Spurs in the second round and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, just for the opportunity to compete in the NBA Finals for a title. It is no easy road to hoe.

What is required for the Nuggets? Beating these Wolves three times in a row, which is possible, especially in the absence of Edwards. He is expected to miss multiple weeks after hyperextending his left knee in the third quarter of Saturday’s victory. Denver hosts Games 5 and 7. It will necessitate wins in both and a single road win over the depleted Wolves. Denver will be favored in each of the remaining matchups.

But the Nuggets’ defense, which rated 21st in the regular season, allowing 116 points per 100 possessions, did not look title-worthy all season. It was better, operating at a top-10 level, when Aaron Gordon was on the court. He was supposed to propel their playoff success, but Gordon is battling a calf injury that kept him out of Game 3 of this series.

What Jaden McDaniels said — that “they’re all bad defenders” in Denver — may not be entirely true, but with a hobbled Gordon there are plenty of places for Minnesota to attack. Timberwolves reserve Ayo Dosunmu worked them for 43 points in Game 4, but it is hard to imagine that happening again. It will be an uphill battle sans Edwards.

The Wolves did outscore opponents by 4.5 points per 100 possessions with Edwards off the floor during the regular season. Likewise, without Edwards and DiVincenzo, they outscored opponents by 3 points per 100 meaningful possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. But there is a difference between doing that in the regular season and doing it against these Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

Similarly, though, Minnesota is uniquely equipped to defend Denver, which boasted the NBA’s top offense in the regular season (121.2 points per 100 possessions). The Wolves feature four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who has done an admirable job on Jokic. And they can roll out waves of wings at Jamal Murray, though their arsenal on that end is depleted by the absences of Edwards and DiVincenzo.

Minnesota can absolutely win one more game in this series, even without Edwards, and then what? Presumably, they would face the Spurs, who are sure to welcome Victor Wembanyama back soon from a concussion to a series they currently lead, 2-1.

Facing San Antonio’s defense, without Edwards for at least the first few games of a second-round series, seems like an impossible task for a Minnesota offense that didn’t exactly light the world on fire on that end in the regular season, rating 13th.

Likewise, if the Nuggets can storm back from a 3-1 deficit to win this series in Game 7, what hope would they have of beating Wembanyama’s Spurs — with a hobbled Gordon, a shaky defense and an offense that increasingly appears stoppable?

These playoffs may be a war of attrition, and both these teams are losing the battle.