Celtics Weren't Discouraged After Joel Embiid's Dominant Game

Joel Embiid’s performance against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night caused Doc Rivers to declare the MVP race was over and the award should go to the six-time All-Star center Embiid.

As Embiid was nearly unstoppable against Boston on Tuesday, he did everything he could to will his team to a two-point win over the Celtics.

Despite allowing Embiid to go off for over 50 points, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla liked that his team stuck to the gameplan by preventing Embiid from getting into transition frequently and staying off the free throw line.

“They made an adjustment, and they made us pay,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “He didn’t get in transition, and we didn’t foul him. I think our offense, we just weren’t elite tonight. When your offense isn’t elite, it puts pressure on your defense against great players.”

Philadelphia’s defense had some notable struggles on Tuesday, leaving players open. Fortunately, the Celtics struggled to capitalize on a lot of those shots. Overall, they knocked down just over 40 percent of their field goals. From three, the Celtics shot 33 percent.

“Great players like [Embiid], when you have some empty possessions and he’s playing that way from mid-range, you’ve just got to stick with it as long as you can,” Mazzulla continued.

Embiid couldn’t miss Tuesday night. By taking 25 shots from the field, he made all but five of his attempts. While he carried the load for the Sixers, scoring about half of their points, the veteran forward PJ Tucker came up big in the fourth quarter, hitting several threes for nine points.

“If Tucker doesn’t make those three threes, it’s a completely different game. Or if we let Embiid keep going, maybe he misses a couple,” Mazzulla stated.

All in all, Mazzulla wasn’t frustrated with his team’s struggles against Embiid. Although they didn’t have an answer for the MVP candidate, the Celtics were still within one possession while shorthanded.

“I thought our guys competed, and they were very detailed in keeping him off the free throw line,” he finished. “I thought he had a great night, and we just weren’t tremendous on the offensive end like we normally are.”

The Sixers avoided a season’s sweep against the Celtics with a 103-101 win on Tuesday. Despite coming up short against Philly for the first time this year and allowing Embiid to go off, the Celtics were far from discouraged.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.