NBA playoffs winners, losers: Embiid’s gutsy effort leads 76ers, Brunson takes over for Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive Tuesday night with a gutsy road win over the Boston Celtics. Coming on the heels of an ugly home loss in Game 4, Philadelphia responded with a dominant second half – especially from Joel Embiid in his second game after an emergency appendectomy.

Elsewhere in the East, the New York Knicks took control of their series against the Atlanta Hawks with a dominating 126-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at home. Now down 3-2, the Knicks have bounced back with back-to-back wins after falling behind 2-1 and can advance with a victory in Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday.

Later, the San Antonio Spurs became the second West team to advance to second round taking care of business against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from Tuesday night’s action.

Loser: Appendicitis (in his confrontation against Joel Embiid)

Joel Embiid had an appendectomy 19 days ago. That he plays basketball is remarkable. For him to be able to cook the Celtics and absolutely take control of the second half of a playoff game is incredible.

Embiid was the driving force behind the Sixers’ Game 5 victory. In 39 minutes, he scored 33 points (12-23 FG) and distributed eight assists. Imagine the numbers he could have posted if he hadn’t had such a difficult start!

It was history by the time Philadelphia cruised to a comfortable victory, but Embiid missed six of his first seven shots Tuesday. Four of those misses were 3s. When those weren’t coming, he decided to change his approach.

“I started going in and I found a little bit of luck,” Embiid told ESPN’s Lisa Salters during his exit interview.

After halftime, Embiid scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and didn’t make a single 3. Normally, I’m not a “big guys belong on the block” type of guy! guy, but it was exhilarating to watch him bully Nikola Vučević and make the Celtics look stupid for trying to take on him. He pulled off some vintage pull-ups and flips – you know, the stuff that makes him an impossible match – in isolation as well. A truly superb performance.

A few weeks ago, it was fair to assume that appendicitis had effectively ended Embiid’s (and Philadelphia’s) season. Considering all the other things his body endured, maybe appendicitis never stood a chance. -James Herbert

Winner: Jalen Brunson

This hasn’t been the best series for Jalen Brunson. He didn’t shoot the ball very well. His defensive vulnerabilities — and the Hawks’ ability to aggressively and successfully expose them — have been well-documented. But he’s still a top-notch scorer and he reminded everyone of that in Game 5 with 39 points and eight assists in New York’s biggest game of the season.

Brunson scored 22 points in the second half (17 in the fourth quarter) and went on a 10-point streak, which included this nasty old-fashioned 3-point play:

Followed by this deep pull-up on the possession that follows:

Brunson entered Game 5 averaging 25.5 points per game in the series; not his best, but good enough. The problem was efficiency – just 41% from the floor. In Game 5, he finished 15 of 23 overall and 3 of 5 from 3. He committed only one turnover and remained in complete control throughout.

OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns were great. Jose Alvarado had his best match of the series in still fairly short minutes. New York’s defense was fantastic. The bench came to play. They dominated scoring in the paint and doubled Atlanta’s free throw attempts, thanks to their physical advantage throughout the game. All of these factors contributed to New York’s victory.

But that said, Brunson has to be great for this team to legitimately compete with top contenders. He was all that and more on Tuesday. -Brad Botkin

Loser: CJ McCollum

McCollum entered Game 5 averaging nearly 25 points per game in this series. He took over Madison Square Garden and won the face-off with Brunson quite decisively. In Atlanta’s two wins, he had 55 points. On Tuesday, he scored just six.

Josh Hart was all over McCollum, but it was also a group effort. New York stepped up its defense in Game 4 and continued in Game 5. The turnovers, the physicality, the urgency. They fought against screens, and every corner McCollum tried to take was cut off by layers of help.

Towns cut his penetration and blocked his 3-point attempt on one possession, and stepped up to contest a floater in the lane on another. It was a group effort, and McCollum found the sledding to be much tougher than it had been in the first four games of this series.

For Atlanta to win Game 6 at home, McCollum likely needs to have another big game, but it’s a fine line to put the ball in his hands too much and allow New York’s defense to focus. Atlanta probably needs to put McCollum in better positions to create secondary rather than always as a focal point, but of course that requires other guys to move him forward.

Jonathan Kuminga is my Game 6 X-factor. He is the ultimate wild card. If he can get things going he can open up a lot of things for McCollum with the home crowd behind them. -Brad Botkin

Winner: Grit and Grimes

Bravo to Quentin Grimes.

The 3 to put Philadelphia up by six was important, but focus on the nasty one-on-one defense against Jaylen Brown on the ensuing possession:

This is exactly the kind of effort the Sixers needed with their season on the line against the Celtics.

Grimes was +17 in 28 minutes Tuesday. He finished with 18 points, and it was a great time to have a hot shooting night (5-8 FG, 4-7 3PT, 4-4 FT). Plays like the defensive position above, however, had as much to do with Philly’s victory as its offensive effectiveness. (Grimes also rejected Jayson Tatum from behind on a fast break.)

When the Sixers trailed by 13 a few minutes into the second half, they could have blown it. Instead, they dug. Philadelphia responded with a 15-3 run, patiently finding high-quality looks on almost every offensive possession and pushing the Celtics into their worst habits on the other end. The Sixers then dominated the fourth, holding Boston without a bucket for nearly five minutes and earning their gutsiest win of the season. -James Herbert

Winner: Victor Wembanyama

Was it a particularly glamorous victory for Victor Wembanyama? No. If you’re looking for one, the first game in this series more than sufficed. The numbers were subtle by Wemby standards – 17 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks. The glory was shared. It was a team victory. Five Spurs scored at least 15 points, but none exceeded 21.

But Wembanyama is the kind of player for whom every box checked is memorable, and he’s ticked quite a few of them in recent times. A unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award, for example, and that “first playoff win” from Game 1. It was relatively uneventful, especially since he missed Game 3, but for the rest of his career, this series will always be a trivial matter.

Wembanyama’s first series win came against Portland. He overcame a concussion and dominated a lower-ranked opponent, as we expect him to do many times during his career. –Sam Quinn

Loser: Donovan Clingan

As one highly drafted center rises, another stumbles. This is only year two for Donovan Clingan, and he’s playing on an imperfect roster. Still, it’s hard not to be a little concerned about what we just watched. Centers should never shoot 14 of 46 from the field in a series. Portland was outscored by 47 points in Clingan’s minutes during the series. He was too slow defensively. He didn’t look ready for the moment.

Again, he is 22 years old. You don’t have to get carried away. But Portland has won Robert Williams III’s minutes in this series, and while Williams is a very effective player in small doses, he’s not exactly a superstar. Portland relied heavily on its young center and his second season was overall a success. But this series wasn’t, and that’s part of why Portland’s season is now over. –Sam Quinn