NBA playoffs: Celtics spoil Jo...

After missing two consecutive postseason games due to a knee injury, Joel Embiid made his NBA MVP debut on the floor on Wednesday.

The party was ruined by the Boston Celtics. With little restrictions, Embiid made a strong comeback and displayed his usual ferocity on defense. He made it difficult for Boston to get close to the basket, but the Celtics responded with a flurry of 3-pointers to defeat the 76ers 121-87 and square the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 1-1.

When Embiid entered the game, it immediately changed from Game 1's opening quarter in which the Celtics shot 85% from the field. In Game 2, baskets were more difficult to come by on both ends of the floor. at least in the early going.

Life at the rim was much harder than it was on Monday, so Boston glanced outside. Despite shooting only 42.2% from the field in the first half, the Celtics made enough 3-pointers (8 of 22) to establish a 57-49 lead at the break. They matched the defensive vigor of Philadelphia and limited the 76ers to 37.7% shooting in the first half.

Then Boston's rim-top lid fell off. With separate 12-1 and 13-0 runs in the third quarter, the Celtics vastly increased their advantage. They made 7 of their 15 3-point attempts in the quarter, doing their offensive damage from a distance. Malcolm Brogdon contributed to the surge by making 3 of his 6 3-point tries. With 51.7 seconds left in the fourth, he made a pull-up three-pointer to push Boston's advantage to 92-63, effectively ending the game.

Boston looked outside because it was more tougher to live at the rim now than it was on Monday. The Celtics made enough 3-pointers (8 of 22) despite only shooting 42.2% from the field in the first half to lead 57-49 at the intermission. They matched Philadelphia's defensive tenacity and held the 76ers to just 37.7% shooting in the opening period.

Boston's rim-top lid eventually came off. The Celtics further widened their lead in the third quarter with separate 12-1 and 13-0 runs. They performed their offensive damage from a distance by making 7 of their 15 3-point tries in the period. Malcolm Brogdon helped the surge by making 3 of his 6 attempts from beyond the arc. with 4 minutes, 51.7 seconds remaining.

By the time it was through, the Celtics had made 20 of their 51 tries, or 39.2%. They shot the second-most 3-pointers per game in the NBA (42.6) during the regular season. Off the bench, Brogdon made 6 of 10 shots from beyond the arc on route to 23 points and 6 rebounds. Grant Williams scored all 12 of his points from beyond the arc, going 4 for 8. Both Brown (game-high 25 points) and Derrick White (15 points) were 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. Tatum had a difficult time scoring seven points and seven rebounds, but it didn't matter. Boston went.

The 76ers, who were the league's top shooting team from beyond the arc during the regular season (38.7%), hit 6 of 30 (20%) from deep while the Celtics exploded from three. Harden failed on each of his six attempts. For Philadelphia, only Tobias Harris (2 of 5) made more than one shot on route to a team-high 16 points.

The fact that the series is headed back to Philadelphia and the 76ers are leaving Boston with a 1-1 draw is consoling. On Wedn esday, though, they were outmatched on all sides of the floor.