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Celtics Rout 76ers 128-96, Pritchard Scores 32 Off-Bench

4/27/2026

43 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Celtics Crush 76ers

Celtics defeated the 76ers 128-96 in Game 4, pushing the series lead to 3-1.
Payton Pritchard scored a career-playoff-high 32 points off the bench, hitting six 3-pointers and joining two other Celtics with 30+ off-bench points in the playoffs.
Boston out-rebounded Philadelphia 51-30, posted nine first-half offensive boards, and set a franchise playoff record with 24 threes on 53 attempts.

Summary

Embiid Returns

Joel Embiid underwent emergency appendectomy on April 9 and played Game 4 with a protective brace.
He later said he faced complications, initially couldn’t walk, and declined to discuss specifics.
Coach Nick Nurse’s early use of Andre Drummond and rookie VJ Edgecombe’s scoring drop highlighted the Sixers’ recent playoff injury woes, which include Bell’s palsy in 2024, a knee sprain in 2023 and an orbital fracture in 2022.

History

Historical Context

Michael Jordan's 45-point Game 6 on June 14, 1998, clinched Chicago's sixth title and earned his sixth Finals MVP. The performance echoed his 1995 comeback—after a baseball stint he scored 55 points against the Knicks—and the Bulls' 1995-96 dominance, a 72-10 season that set a win record. Both moments illustrate how Jordan’s returns reshaped playoff expectations.

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Celtics Crush 76ers

Celtics defeated the 76ers 128-96 in Game 4, pushing the series lead to 3-1.
Payton Pritchard scored a career-playoff-high 32 points off the bench, hitting six 3-pointers and joining two other Celtics with 30+ off-bench points in the playoffs.
Boston out-rebounded Philadelphia 51-30, posted nine first-half offensive boards, and set a franchise playoff record with 24 threes on 53 attempts.

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