Joel Embiid, Sixers address now being down 3-1 to Celtics after loss

PHILADELPHIA -- There is no other way to describe it. The Philadelphia 76ers got waxed in Game 4 as they fell to the Boston Celtics 128-96. The Sixers trailed by 21 in the opening half, never threatened, got outrebounded 51-30, and didn't record an offensive rebound until roughly midway through the third quarter.

There was just no other way to really describe such a performance for the Sixers in a game they absolutely needed to win to avoid the dreaded 3-1 hole. Philadelphia now has to make the trek back up to Boston facing elimination as it appears the Celtics are in a full rhythm in this series.

"We know what we didn't do well, obviously," Joel Embiid said after the loss. "I think they believe in what they believe, which is shoot a lot of 3s, and they believe they can make enough of it to win every single game. Tonight, offensive rebounding hurt us a little bit—a lot, actually. I think 3s equal long rebounds. It felt like we keep coming in. Instead, you know, we should go towards our man and check them before even looking at the ball, and that's an adjustment. We've had that problem all season. So, we got to do a better job."

To Embiid's point, the Celtics grabbed six offensive rebounds in the opening quarter as they set the tone early in this one. Also, defensive rebounding has been a big part of this team's problem all season and Boston is exploiting it in this series. The Celtics grabbed key offensive rebounds in their Game 3 win and then dominated that department in Game 4. It's an issue that has to be cleaned up in Game 5 on Tuesday if Philadelphia wants to extend this series.

"So, just going with the mentality of, yeah, one at a time, take care of some of the mistakes we made today," Embiid added. "Obviously, we gotta do a better job of making shots. We didn't do that in Game 1, and then we came back Game 2, and we made a lot of them. So, yeah, just take care of, you know, like I said, offensive rebounding, not giving them second chance points on the 3s, try to contest it even more than we did tonight, and guard our man."

"Guarding their man" was a big issue on Sunday as well. The Celtics got whatever they wanted off the dribble and it led to plenty of easy shots whether it was in the paint or wide-open 3s. hopped off the bench and poured in 32 points for Boston as he played a big part in this contest. As the Sixers move forward to Tuesday, they have to just play harder.