76ers vs. Celtics: Game Odds, Players to Watch for Game 3

On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers return home to the Wells Fargo Center, looking to bounce back off a humiliating 87-121 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Simply put, the Sixers' offense struggled to keep up, despite the return of newly crowned NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who led the league in scoring for the second straight year, but only managed to put up 15 points in the 26 minutes of game time he received.

Elsewhere for the Sixers, James Harden struggled to replicate his Game 1 performance, scoring 12 points on a tough to watch 14 percent accuracy from the field, with a bulk of his points coming from free throws.

On the other page, everything seemed to be dropping for the Celtics, as four of their players put up double-digit scoring numbers, with Jaylen Brown and Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogden combining for 48 points.

Tatum, who dropped 39 points in Game 1, didn't have the same feel on Wednesday night, as the 25-year-old only scored seven points throughout the 20 minutes he played.

Joel Embiid returns to the Sixers' injury report as he is downgraded to questionable with the LCL sprain, while Boston's Blake Griffin, who failed to make an appearance in the previous two games, is listed as out with lower back pain.

Game Odds

Spread: Celtics -2.5

Moneyline: BOS -143, PHI +120

Total O/U: 215.5

*All Odds are Provided by SI Sportsbook

Players To Watch:

Sixers: Joel Embiid

The Process finds himself as the player to watch as he is set to receive the NBA MVP trophy prior to Friday night's game, with the anticipation that he'll drop an MVP-like performance as the series sits tied.

All things considered, for coming off of a two-week hiatus, his 15-point performance wasn't horrible, especially given his work on the defensive end in the first half, when he made five blocks, sitting one away from his playoff career high.

Celtics: Jaylen Brown

Brown led the Celtics' offense in game two, dropping 25 points on an efficient 53 percent shooting from the field. In the event that Tatum, who usually is the leading scoring option for Boston, has another cold night, Brown should be expected to carry the load.

Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.

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