Boston Celtics Player Grades, Stats vs. Philadelphia 76ers In Game 4 Blowout Win

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid returned for the Philadelphia 76ers but it didn’t help them very much as the Boston Celtics got a monster game from Payton Pritchard off the bench and set a team playoff record with 24 made three-pointers on their way to a 32-point win in Game 4.

Box Score

Game Flow

Embiid started out fairly well, scoring all eight of Philadelphia’s points at the first timeout, but the Sixers trailed because Boston’s centers combined for nine points. Pritchard got going off the bench, drilling a couple of threes, talking smack, and fueling an 8-0 run. The run grew to 22-5 by the end of the quarter, thanks to yet another Pritchard buzzer beater. Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman made big impacts on both ends as well.

The run extended into the second quarter as Boston’s lead hit 21. Things slowed down after that and got pretty sloppy on both ends. Jaylen Brown finally got going with eight points in the quarter, but Boston only won it 22-20, to extend their 16-point first quarter lead to 18 at the half.

The Celtics were aggressive to start the third, going on a 13-5 run behind Jayson Tatum and Brown and pushing the lead up to 26. The Sixers went into a zone defense to junk up the game, but the Celtics shooting blew that up. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George prevented the Celtics from putting the game away, but they were still down 21 after three.

A 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter got the lead up to 30 points, and the Celtics cruised from there.

Player Grades

Payton Pritchard: A (32 points, 12-21 fg (6-12 3pt), 5 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers)

He changed the game when he checked in. During the regular season, Pritchard took about as many two-point attempts as he did threes. That is shifting in this series as Jayson Tatum takes up more of the driving and Pritchard handles more of the catch-and-shoot duty. After a rough Game 2, Pritchard has found his footing.

“[I was] very disappointed at Game 2. I felt like I was kind of a shell of myself,” Pritchard said. “Bad decisions, shot making wasn't great, so just coming out, just kind of trying to forget about it and just come out with a different aggression, a different attack mode, trying to get downhill, and then obviously the three balls start getting going.”

Jayson Tatum: A- (30 points, 8-16 fg (5-10 3pt), 11 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 turnovers)

It took Tatum a little while to get going, which was fine because the bench was handling its business behind Pritchard and the Sixers offense was completely stalled. Once he got going, he picked on the Embiid matchup and got hot from deep.

Jaylen Brown: B+ (20 points, 6-15 fg (3-7 3pt), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers)

Also a slow start from Brown who struggled from the line (5-9) and with the turnovers again. But he was aggressive and attacking, doing some of the initial work that led to the work that led to the baskets. Through it all, though, he was very good defensively. More of a dirty work plus some scoring kind of game.

Derrick White: B+ (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks)

White is perfectly happy to sit back and support his teammates, especially as he struggles from three. Take this play, for example:

pic.twitter.com/QtC2qpms1J
— John Karalis (@JohnKaralisClip) April 27, 2026

That's an easy shot to step into, but it’s early in the clock and he saw Neemias Queta down the middle and thought, for a split second, that they could get the dunk instead of his own shot. That's very much on brand for White, who did manage to shoot 2-4 from three while having an incredible defensive game. The two chasedown blocks were incredible.

Never give up on the play 🔒 pic.twitter.com/b3Hskh1r71
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 27, 2026

But he made so many little, incredible defensive reads and plays that it’s impossible to line them all up here. If he’s not All-Defensive first team, then the All-Defensive team shouldn’t exist.

Jordan Walsh (3 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals) & Baylor Scheierman (6 points, 5 rebounds): B+

I put them together because I’m going to say the same thing about both of them: Major energy-changers early in the game. They fought for everything on the floor, staking a claim to every 50/50 ball, defending like madmen, and making it impossible for the Sixers to get into any kind of rhythm.

Nikola Vučević B+ (4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)

A reporter sitting next to asked out loud “where would the Celtics be without Vučević?” It’s a valid question because Queta can’t stay on the floor, so Vučević has to be part of the solution. He’s held his own in this series and in this game, even with the unfortunate circumstance of having to guard Embiid in the post. I think Embiid hurt his team yesterday, but he’s still a load and Vučević handled it as well as he could.

I’ll put it more bluntly: He didn’t suck out there, and that helped. All he needs to be is a player worthy of some kind of B grade and the Celtics will be fine.

Sam Hauser: B (6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist)

He continues to hold his own defensively and he hits the boards with two rebounds on each side of the floor. Solid game.

Luka Garza: B- (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)

He didn’t play much, but he was okay in spots. Embiid in any condition is an impossible matchup for him. He had five fouls in 11 minutes, and even though a couple were close, that's still a lot.

Neemias Queta: C (9 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block)

This has been a rough series for Queta because he can’t stay on the floor. He’s going to get some fouls because of how he plays no matter what, but then he tacks on some bad decisions and it just makes you wonder if he’s truly ready for this moment.

He’d better be, because he is important. He played 17 minutes and led the team in rebounding. He was still +12 in his time on the floor, so he has to figure out how to play within himself, stop being overzealous, and understand the Celtics are better with regular season Neemi on the floor.

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