BOSTON (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 33 points, Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination, beating the Boston Celtics 113-97 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
Paul George had 16 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Sixers, who lost Games 3 and 4 at home to fall behind 3-1 in the series before returning to Boston to keep their season alive.
Game 6 is back in Philadelphia on Thursday night, when the Sixers will try to force the series to a decisive seventh game in Boston on Saturday.
In his second game back from an emergency appendectomy, Embiid helped rally Philly from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit. After scoring 13 points in the second quarter, he added 10 in the third and eight more in the fourth, when the Sixers went on a 12-0 run to turn a three-point lead into a 15-point runaway.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 16 rebounds for Boston and Jaylen Brown scored 22.
KNICKS 126, HAWK 97
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 39 points, nearly extending his own franchise record for 40-point playoff games, and New York routed Atlanta for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
With their second straight lopsided victory, the Knicks positioned themselves to win the series Thursday night in Atlanta. They would have another chance at home in Game 7 if they need it — and it’s getting harder to picture why they should.
The Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the series with one-point victories in Games 2 and 3, but a pretty sizable gap between the teams has appeared since. The Knicks led by 24 on their way to a 114-98 win in Game 4 in Atlanta and by 32 on Tuesday, when the lead was never below double digits in the second half.
OG Anunoby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The Knicks need one more victory to reach the second round for the fourth straight season, which would continue their longest streak since advancing nine straight times from 1991-92 through 1999-2000.
Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Dyson Daniels scored 17, but CJ McCollum, the catalyst of both Atlanta victories, had just six.
SPURS 114, TRAIL BLAZERS 95
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks and San Antonio never trailed in eliminating Portland in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
De’Aaron Fox had 21 points, Julian Champagnie added 19 points and Dylan Harper had 17 as the Spurs led by as many as 28 points in winning their third straight game to advance to the second round.
San Antonio advances to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2017, when it beat the Houston Rockets before losing Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury and then getting swept by Golden State in the conference finals.
The Spurs will face the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.
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