The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive Tuesday night, defeating the Boston Celtics 113-97 in Game 5 behind a breakout performance from Quentin Grimes. The win cut Boston’s series lead to 3-2 and sends the series back to Philadelphia for a pivotal Game 6.
With their backs pressed firmly against the wall and elimination looming at TD Garden, the Philadelphia 76ers needed players to step up and save their season. On Tuesday night in Boston, one of those players was Quentin Grimes.
The fifth-year guard exploded for 18 points off the bench, knocking down four critical 3-pointers to fuel Philadelphia's 113-97 victory. But the box score only tells part of the story. After the game, both Joel Embiid and head coach Nick Nurse singled out Grimes for his all-around excellence, making it clear that without him, the Sixers' season would already be over.
"Q was huge," Embiid explained. "I mean, we need everything we can get… Q was all that. Big shots after big shots. Especially in the third quarter, closing out the game. Obviously, he's great defensively and spacing. He just helps with the spacing. Now, you got to make a decision whether it’s double me, which they’re probably still gonna do, and we just trust him to knock down those wide open shots, and he did that."
Grimes' impact was not limited to offense. His defensive performance was equally, if not more, impressive across the 24 minutes he logged. He was tasked with guarding some of Boston's most dangerous perimeter threats and met every challenge with composure and determination.
Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, praised his teammate's defensive tenacity with enthusiasm:
"He just guarded his tail off the entire night, and that was really good for us, man. We really needed him to do that. He made shots, bro." Coming from a player of Maxey's calibre, that kind of recognition speaks to just how impactful Grimes was on the evening.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had warned his team all series not to let Grimes get going. In Game 5, that warning became a painful reality. "Embiid puts pressure on the rim, forces help, and then you have to be able to read rotations there," Mazzulla said. "We just didn't make the rotations."
With the series now at 3-2 and the whole team buzzing and brimming with confidence, it remains to be seen whether the Sixers can make a successful comeback and etch themselves into the history books, a feat only 13 teams in NBA history have accomplished. Whoever wins this series will face off against either the New York Knicks or the Atlanta Hawks in the second round. Game 6 tips off on April 30 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
More: Joel Embiid: ‘I don’t think I can be stopped’
