Jaylen Brown, in context

Early in the fourth quarter, the Sixers got a key stop when George stayed with Jaylen Brown around a Neemias Queta screen, cut off his drive to the basket, and forced him into a tough shot …. Jaylen Brown has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in United States.

Key facts

• Early in the fourth quarter, the Sixers got a key stop when George stayed with Jaylen Brown around a Neemias Queta screen, cut off his drive to the basket, and forced him into a tough shot ….
• Game 6 in Philly may come down to the Joel Embiid-Nikola Vučević matchup and Boston's ability to make its 3-pointers.
• Guided by Joel Embiid's 33, the 76ers go into Boston and come away with a gutsy Game 5 win to force the series back to Philly.
• Before Game 5 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round series against the Boston Celtics, it was fair to wonder if the Sixers were better off if Joel Embiid didn’t play.
• Embiid returned to the Sixers’ lineup in Game 4 and, while he finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, he wasn’t very efficient.

What we know

Going deeper, Game 6 in Philly may come down to the Joel Embiid-Nikola Vučević matchup and Boston's ability to make its 3-pointers.

On the substance, Guided by Joel Embiid's 33, the 76ers go into Boston and come away with a gutsy Game 5 win to force the series back to Philly.

Beyond the headlines, before Game 5 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round series against the Boston Celtics, it was fair to wonder if the Sixers were better off if Joel Embiid didn’t play.

More precisely, Embiid returned to the Sixers’ lineup in Game 4 and, while he finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, he wasn’t very efficient.

It is worth noting that But Embiid played in Game 5 and played much better, leading the Sixers to a comeback win with 33 points and eight assists.

By the numbers

At this stage, as important as Embiid’s return has been, this remains a make-or-miss series from 3-point range, especially for the Celtics.

On a related note, They’ve shot 47.7% from beyond the arc over their three wins and just 27% over their two losses.

Going deeper, Game 5 came with the Celtics’ lowest 3-point rate of the series.

On the substance, after taking an amazing 58% of their shots from beyond the arc in Games 2-4, they took just 39 (44%) of their 89 shots from deep on Tuesday.

The wider context

On a related note, And as they lost the fourth quarter by 17 points, they struggled more from 2-point range (1-for-14) than they did from 3-point range (2-for-8).

Going deeper, here are three things to watch in Game 6 on Thursday (8 p.m.

On the substance, the Celtics weren’t as good at navigating screens in Game 5, and the Sixers were able to step into some critical jumpers as they outscored the Celtics, 40-16, over the final 14 1/2 minutes.

Beyond the headlines, Vučević is only 7-for-22 (32%) from 3-point range in this series, but he should continue to get some wide-open looks when he’s on the floor.

More precisely, the issue is that he was absolutely destroyed by Embiid in the low post in Game 5.

The bottom line

• Before Game 5 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round series against the Boston Celtics, it was fair to wonder if the Sixers were better off if Joel Embiid didn’t play.
• As important as Embiid’s return has been, this remains a make-or-miss series from 3-point range, especially for the Celtics.
• After taking an amazing 58% of their shots from beyond the arc in Games 2-4, they took just 39 (44%) of their 89 shots from deep on Tuesday.