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.