Jimmy Butler says the Miami Heat must play with more energy and like their backs are against the wall when they next face the Boston Celtics.

The Heat missed the chance to progress to the NBA Finals as they lost 116-99 to the Celtics on Tuesday.

Miami now hold a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals, ahead of Game 5 in Boston on Thursday.

But for Butler, who scored 29 points and added nine rebounds and five assists, there is no reason to be downhearted.

"If anything, it will build momentum for us knowing that we have to play with a lot more energy," Butler said.

"We've got to play like our backs are against the wall.

"I think all year long, we've been better when we've had to do things the hard way.

"We'll be OK. Let's get back to doing what we've always done to get us to this point, continually have belief in one another, knowing that we are going to win, and we will. We've just got to play harder.

"There's not too much to say with this group because we already know. So we've just got to go out there and execute."

Butler's sentiment was echoed by Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.

"At some point, this is great competition. You know, sometimes it can get skewed, because, whatever, the 3-0," he said.

"But we have great respect for Boston, what they are capable of. They are a dynamic offensive team that takes extraordinary efforts and commitment to get the job done. Our guys really want this.

"A lot of what we've done this year has been the hard way. We've been able to figure out ways to win, even if teams are playing well, if we are not in a perfect flow.

"They got us tonight. You have to give them credit for that."

"It's definitely disappointing," said Heat guard Caleb Martin.

"That would have been a perfect world, perfect situation. But as we know and everybody else knows, we don't typically get things the easy way over here.

"So like I said, this is right up our alley. This is the way it goes for us and guys like us. Again, I think it's only going to prepare us for the long run. This could be good for us."

Jayson Tatum had 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Boston Celtics kept their season alive for at least one more game with a 116-99 win over the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each added 16 points and Grant Williams had 14 Boston, which trails the best-of-seven series 3-1 and will try to avoid elimination again in Game 5 on Thursday in Boston.

No team in NBA history has ever successfully rallied from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

The Celtics trailed by nine early in the second half before reeling off 18 straight points for a 70-61 lead. Tatum ignited the run with consecutive 3-pointers, White followed with another, and Marcus Smart also connected from deep.

Boston maintained the lead the rest of the way, though the Heat got within four late in the third. The Celtics responded to score the next seven points and led 88-79 heading to the fourth quarter.

After shooting 11 for 42 from long range in Game 3, the Celtics regained their stroke in this one by going 19 of 45 and limited the Heat to 8 for 32.

Jimmy Butler had 29 points for Miami, which was outscored 48-22 during a 14-minute stretch across the third and fourth quarters.

Jaylen Brown described the Boston Celtics as "embarrassing" after they were blown out by the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who has faced criticism throughout the series, blamed himself for the 128-102 loss, as Boston fell to the eighth-seeded Heat for a third straight game.

No team in NBA history has recovered to win a seven-game playoff series when trailing 3-0 and Miami has its first chance to wrap up the series at home on Tuesday.

In a road game the Celtics felt they had to win after two shock home losses, Miami's lead grew to as much as 33 points in the third quarter.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with just 14 points while finishing 6 of 18 from the field and Brown was held to 12 points on 6-of-17 shooting. The two All-Stars were a combined 1 of 14 from 3-point range.

"I don't even know where to start," said Brown after the game, per ESPN. "It's an obvious letdown. I feel like we let our fan base, organization down. 

"We let ourselves down. And it was collective. We can point fingers, but in reality, it was just embarrassing.

"To their credit, they’re playing well above their means.They’re ballin’ right now and I’ve got to give them respect.

"Gabe Vincent, Martin, Strus, Duncan Robinson, guys that we should be able to keep under control are playing their [butt] off.

"The series isn't over yet. It's looking bad, but you come out, have some pride about yourself."

The Celtics were favourites to win the NBA Championship before the series began but now look like a team in crisis just seven days on from their big Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in round two.

"I just didn’t have them ready to play," said Mazzulla, who is in his first season as head coach.

"Whatever it was, whether it was the starting lineup or an adjustment, I have to get them in a better place, ready to play. That’s on me.

"I think some of the defensive identity has been lost and we have to get that back."

While a comeback to reach the Finals from here would be miraculous, Tatum insists Boston has to first and foremost recover some pride.

He said: "It was tough. From the beginning of the game, we were turning the ball over. We didn't shoot the ball well, they shot extremely well and it felt like we never recovered.

"As tough as tonight was, we just got to try to move on. Prepare, get ready, practice, film and stuff for tomorrow.

"Obviously we're in a tough position but we've got to have some pride, bounce back and just be better come Tuesday."

Jimmy Butler has proven inspirational for the Heat in the postseason far but in Game 3 Miami showcased its roster depth.

Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points and Duncan Robinson added 22 off the bench, propelling the Heat to a lopsided victory that puts coach Erik Spoelstra on the brink of a sixth NBA Finals appearance with the team.

The Western Conference finals also look like they are set to reach an earlier than expected conclusion, with the Denver Nuggets enjoying a 3-0 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of Game 4 on Monday.

The Boston Celtics are not dead and buried despite going 2-0 down to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals on Friday, insists star forward Jayson Tatum.

Four-time All-Star Tatum posted team-high figures of 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics started Game 2 strongly at TD Garden, but it was not enough.

Jimmy Butler's 27 points helped the Heat rally to claim a 111-105 victory, with a game-ending 24-9 run from the visitors leaving the Celtics facing an uphill task to seal consecutive NBA Finals appearances.

Boston now approach back-to-back road games requiring a win to keep the series alive, but Tatum retains confidence in their ability to turn things around.

"It's tough. It's a challenge," Tatum said after Friday's loss. "They came in and won two games. They played well, you have to give them credit. 

"But we're not dead or anything. We've got a great opportunity. 

"I still have the utmost confidence. Everybody has the utmost confidence. We've just got to get ready for Game 3."

Grant Williams attracted criticism for his part in the Heat's fightback, after Butler said a heated fourth-quarter exchange with the Celtics forward provided him with additional motivation late on.

Addressing the incident, Williams said: "I think he said something and I just responded. I'm a competitor and I'm going to battle. 

"He got the best of me tonight, and at the end of the day it's out of respect, because I'm not going to run away from it. 

"You either come back before you die or you come back and get a win, and I'm not willing to die in this finals. I'm ready to get a win. 

"I'm ready to come back and come into Game 3 with a better mentality, and I know this team is as well.

"We have a real, real decision to make, are we going to come back and really set the tone for the rest of this year and really make a statement? 

"Or are we going to come out and lay down? I don't think this team is built for laying down."

Miami's Kaseya Center will play host to Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and Tuesday respectively, with the Heat needing just two further wins to avenge last year's 4-3 Conference Finals defeat to Boston. 

Jimmy Butler said his bust-up with Grant Williams lit the fire within after leading the Miami Heat to a terrific comeback win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.  

Boasting a 96-87 lead midway through the fourth quarter at TD Garden on Friday, the Celtics looked set to level the series at 1-1, only for Butler to lead his team to a huge 111-105 victory.

Butler scored nine of his team-high 27 points after he went head-to-head with Williams in a heated exchange in the fourth quarter, with the Heat closing the game with a 24-9 run.

Asked whether that incident helped to instigate his strong finish to the game, Butler said: "Yes, it did.

"But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. 

"It makes me key in a lot more, it pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does. 

"When people talk to me, I'm like, 'okay, I know I'm a decent player if you want to talk to me, out of everybody that you can talk to'. It's just competition. 

"I do respect him, though. He's a big part of what they try to do. He switches, he can shoot the ball. I just don't know if I'm the best person to talk to."

Heat guard Caleb Martin concurred, suggesting Williams picked the wrong man to provoke. 

"I knew it was going to be good for us," Martin said. "Knowing Jimmy, at that point in the game, if you get him going… we'll take mad Jimmy any time! 

"You could kind of see it in his eyes that he was ready to go after that."

With Miami set to assume home advantage for Game 3 on Sunday, head coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat's ability to find new ways to win has been a key feature of their postseason run. 

"It feels like this has just been our existence all year long," Spoelstra said. "I guess nobody is really paying attention. 

"But every single game… it felt like for weeks on end, every game was ending on the last-second shot, whether we're shooting it or the other team is shooting it.

"You develop some grit from that. Whether that turns into confidence or not, sometimes you don't have the confidence, but at least you have that experience of going through stuff and you understand how tough it is."

The Miami Heat faced a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter but as long as Jimmy Butler is around, there does not seem to be a cause for concern.

Butler scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Heat rallied for the second consecutive game for a 111-105 road win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Caleb Martin came off the bench to score 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and Bam Adebayo added 22 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists to help the eighth-seeded Heat take a 2-0 lead back to South Beach for Game 3 on Sunday.

Jayson Tatum had 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists but the Boston star went 0 for 3 with two turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Jaylen Brown scored 16 points on 7-for-23 shooting and was 1 for 5 with a turnover in the final quarter, when the Heat outscored the Celtics 36-22.

Miami fell behind by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter and trailed 96-87 with 6:41 remaining.

Butler, however, ignited a game-ending 24-9 run with five straight points before Grant Williams made a jumper to put Boston up 98-92.

Adebayo then sank two from the line and assisted on Duncan Robinson's layup, making it a two-point game.

Grant Williams dunked with 3:56 to play but that would be the Celtics' final field goal of the game. Adebayo made another two from the line and Butler hit a 17-foot jumper and a short fadeaway 26 seconds apart to give Miami the lead for the first time since midway through the third quarter.

After Max Strus made one of two free throws, Adebayo scored on a putback dunk to make it 105-100 with less than a minute left.

Tatum converted three free throws to close the gap, yet Gabe Vincent and Strus took matters away from the Celtics in the closing seconds.

Jimmy Butler was labelled as "one of a kind" after he led the Miami Heat to a shock win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The eighth-seeded Heat came into the series as big underdogs, while the Celtics were rated as favourites to claim this year’s NBA championship.

But despite facing a 71-59 deficit early in third quarter, Butler helped Miami to an improbable road 123-116 win.

The Heat scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third quarter and outscored Boston 66-50 in the second half. 

Butler had 35 points and also recorded seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. He now has five games with at least 30 points this postseason and his play has filled his teammates with confidence. 

"When Jimmy's playing like that, we feel like we can play with anybody, beat anybody," Heat guard Gabe Vincent said after the game, per ESPN. 

"We got a couple guys in this locker room like that, but Jimmy's one of a kind."

"It's fun [to play with him], he is one of the best players in the world for a reason," added Kyle Lowry. "It's just a joy to watch it.

"For a guy that wants it so bad and works so hard at his craft, it's important to enjoy his success. He gives us all the confidence to be successful and be aggressive and be assertive.

"That's what makes him special, that it's not all about him. He's about our group and our team and everyone else."

For Butler, who is hoping to lead Miami to the NBA Finals for a second time, the trust he is shown by all areas of the franchise is proving key.

He said: "We know that Coach [Erik Spoelstra] puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us. Coach Pat [Riley] as well.

"Our circle is small, but the circle got so much love for one another. We pump constant confidence into everybody. 

"I'm playing at an incredible level because they are allowing me to do so. They are not putting a limit on my game. They are trusting me with the ball and on the defensive end. 

"I think that's what any basketball player wants. That's what anybody wants out of life is just to be wanted, be appreciated and just let you go out there and rock.

"I really feel as though with anything in life, if you get the opportunity and you have the belief that my teammates, my coaches, Coach Pat, ownership have in me to kind of lead the charge, along with Bam [Adebayo] right now, anything is possible.

"We go out there and we hoop and we play basketball the right way, knowing that we've always got a chance.

"We don't care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will."

Adebayo supported Butler with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Lowry, Vincent, Caleb Martin and Max Strus all scored 15 points each.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points but did not take a shot in the fourth quarter and Boston are now 4-4 at home in the playoffs ahead of Game 2 on Friday.

"I don’t know why," said Tatum. "You’ve still got to play the game, you've got to make plays, regardless of whether you’re home or away."

Marcus Smart, who had 13 points and a game-high 11 assists, added: "The only thing we need to adjust to is picking up our physicality and playing some damn defense.

"They didn't change anything from the first half that they weren't doing, they just upped their physicality and that's it. That's the only thing they switched. 

"There's nothing tactical, X's and O's, it's just come out and guard your yard. They scored 46 in that third, and they got going, and they made us pay, and they led into the fourth quarter."

Jimmy Butler scored 23 of his 35 points after halftime and the Miami Heat used a dominant third quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.

Miami faced a 71-59 deficit early in the third quarter before using a 17-4 run to take a 76-75 lead.

Butler scored nine straight points for the Heat, capped by a 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the quarter to make it 95-87.

Malcolm Brogdon's free throw with 2:31 to play pulled Boston within 114-110 but Caleb Martin and Butler made consecutive threes to extend the lead to 120-110 with under a minute left.

Miami, which has opened all three playoff series with road victories, scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third quarter and outscored Boston 66-50 after halftime.

Bam Adebayo had 20 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Lowry, Martin, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus each scored 15 points, with three 3-pointers apiece as part of the Heat's 16-for-31 effort from long range.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points but didn't take a shot in the fourth quarter. Brown finished with 22 points and nine boards and Brogdon added 19 points.

Game 2 is Friday in Boston.

Jayson Tatum scored a playoff career-high 51 points – the most ever in a Game 7 in NBA history – to lead the Boston Celtics to a 112-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday to return to the Eastern Conference finals.

After his 16 point fourth-quarter performance rallied the Celtics to a Game 6 victory, Tatum was hot from the start in the winner-take-all Game 7, going 17-of-28 from the field – including 6 of 10 from 3-point range – while grabbing 13 rebounds to help Boston advance to face the Miami Heat in the East finals for a second year in a row.

The series will begin Wednesday in Boston.

Jaylen Brown added 25 points and Malcolm Brogdon scored 12 off the bench for the Celtics, who broke the game open in the third quarter.

With the game tied at 55 early in the third, Boston went on a 28-3 run while holding the 76ers without a point for 6:20 to build an 83-58 advantage.

Tatum scored 17 of Boston’s 33 third-quarter points as the 76ers were limited to just 10 points in the period – tied for the lowest-scoring quarter by a team in a playoff game in the shot clock era.

While Tatum’s point total surpassed Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s 50-point mark set just two weeks ago against the Sacramento Kings for the most in a Game 7 in league history, MVP Joel Embiid and James Harden combined for just 24 points.

Embiid finished with 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and eight rebounds and Harden scored just nine while misfiring on 8 of 11 shots.

The 76ers lost in the conference finals for the third year in a row and fifth time in six seasons.

Nikola Jokic scored 21 of his 32 points in a dominant first half and notched another triple-double as the Denver Nuggets punched their ticket to the Western Conference finals with a 125-100 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Jamal Murray had 26 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 21 as the Nuggets became the first team in the series to win on the road. They return to the West finals for the second time in four seasons after losing to the Lakers in the Florida bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019-20.

Denver essentially put the game away with a dominant first quarter, using a 23-2 run to take a 44-26 lead into the second. Caldwell-Pope had nine points during the surge and Jokic added eight. Phoenix never got closer than 15 points for the duration of the second half.

With 10 rebounds and 12 assists, Jokic earned this third triple-double in this series and 11th in his postseason career. Only LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook have more.

Cameron Payne led the Suns with 31 points on 12-of-16 shooting as Kevin Durant (23 points) and Devin Booker (12) were never factors in a must-win scenario.

Phoenix played without injured starters Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul. Ayton sustained a rib contusion in Tuesday’s Game 5 while Paul has been out the past four games with a strained left groin.

Tatum bounces back late to keep Celtics' season alive

Jayson Tatum erased a dismal shooting night with four late 3-pointers and the Boston Celtics forced Game 7 with a 95-86 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

After missing his first six 3-point attempts, Tatum keyed a late 14-3 run by making four of his final five from deep, including two on consecutive possessions to give Boston an 87-83 lead with 3:35 to play. He sank another long-range shot with under two minutes left and his final 3 with 38 seconds remaining put the Celtics up 95-84.

Tatum, who missed 14 of his first 15 shots, finished with 19 points on 5-of-21 shooting with nine rebounds and six assists. He outscored the 76ers alone in the fourth quarter, with 16 points to Philly's 13.

Marcus Smart scored 22 points, Jaylen Brown had 17 and Malcolm Brogdon added 16 to help the Celtics avoid a third straight loss and send the series back to Boston for Game 7 on Sunday.

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 26 points for the 76ers, while James Harden struggled again with 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting, missing all six 3-point attempts. Tobias Harris was a non-factor with two points on 1 of 7 from the field in 42 minutes.

Joel Embiid may have finally been named as NBA's MVP but winning the championship with the Philadelphia 76ers would push his legacy to "new heights".

That was the message from Embiid's former team-mate Perry Ellis, who played with the 76ers star during his one-year stint of college basketball at the Kansas Jayhawks.

Embiid finished runner-up to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the previous two seasons but claimed the MVP award this time around after leading the league with a 33.1 points-per-game average.

The six-time NBA All-Star now has his sights on a first championship of his career, attempting to end the 76ers' long-awaited road to glory since last triumphing way back in 1983.

Philadelphia lead the Boston Celtics 3-2 in their second-round playoff series and Ellis believes success for the 76ers would represent a landmark moment in Embiid's already illustrious career.

"It'll be huge for them for, legacy wise, and just for him, mentally, mindset wise, to say you got past that stage," Ellis told Stats Perform.

"We're moving forward, we're pushing to new heights, and I think that would be big for his career. And overall, mentally, I think that'll take him to the next step.

"He's an MVP now but it's even more, just taking it to another step. So I think that's what it could do."

Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo were the other two frontrunners for the MVP award this year, although Embiid's late-season exploits propelled him to the individual accolade.

Doc Rivers declared the MVP race "over" after Embiid scored 52 points against the Celtics in the last week of the regular season, with Ellis revelling in his former teammate's exploits.

"Before he was so close, over the last couple of years," Ellis added. "And this year, he finally got it. I was just so excited for him, he was a teammate of mine for a year.

"Just from that little stint, I could see how much he was growing as a player and he only started playing basketball at maybe 15 years old or so.

"Everybody could see how good he can be. So I had no doubt that someday he could be that type of player."

Embiid hit 30 points for a third straight game in the last outing against the Celtics, offering the 76ers the chance to secure their first NBA Finals appearance since 2001 with victory in the next meeting on Thursday.

Nikola Jokic scored 17 of his 29 points during the decisive third quarter and the Denver Nuggets gained the upper hand in their Western Conference semifinal series with a 118-102 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Jokic followed his 53-point performance in Game 4 with another stellar display, adding 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his 10th career playoff triple-double, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain for most by a center in NBA history.

Bruce Brown scored 25 points, one shy of his playoff career high, and Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray added 19 apiece as Denver improved to 6-0 at home this postseason for a 3-2 series lead.

The Nuggets turned a 52-49 halftime lead into a 91-74 advantage with a dominant third quarter in which Jokic made seven of eight shots, while Devin Booker scored three points on 1 of 8 from the field.

Booker finished with 28 points but missed 11 of 19 shots, Kevin Durant had 26 points and Deandre Ayton added 14. No other Suns player reached double figures.

Denver can earn a trip to the west finals with a win at Phoenix on Thursday in Game 6.

Visiting 76ers cruise past Celtics

Joel Embiid scored 32 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 with six 3-pointers to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a surprisingly easy 115-103 victory over the Boston Celtics and a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Philadelphia led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter as the home fans showered the Celtics with boos.

James Harden had 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, Tobias Harris chipped in 16 points and 11 boards and little-used Danuel House Jr. contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

The 76ers can close out the series and advance to the East finals for the first time since reaching the NBA Finals in 2000-01 with a win at home in Game 6 on Thursday.

Jayson Tatum had 36 points but missed all five of his first-quarter attempts and made 11 for 27 from the field. He was part of a poor shooting effort by the Celtics, who shot under 40 percent overall and misfired on 26 of 38 from long range.

Boston cut the deficit to 92-81 with under 10 minutes remaining but Maxey and Embiid responded with consecutive 3s. After Jaylen Brown hit a layup, baskets by House Jr. and Maxey stretched Philadelphia's advantage to 104-88, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback.

A huge bounce-back performance from James Harden got the Philadelphia 76ers right back in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics.

Harden capped a 42-point effort by hitting a game-winning 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in overtime, lifting the 76ers to a crucial 116-115 Game 4 victory on Sunday that evened the series at 2-2.

The 2017-18 NBA MVP earlier forced overtime by hitting a 16-foot floater with 16.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and rebounded strongly from subpar outings in Philadelphia’s losses in Games 2 and 3. Harden shot a combined 5-of-28 from the field in those games, but finished 16 of 23 in Sunday’s win while making 6 of 9 attempts from 3-point range.

Boston’s Marcus Smart nearly answered Harden’s winning shot with some late heroics of his own, but got off a 3-point attempt that went through the net a split second after the final buzzer sounded as the Sixers held on.

Joel Embiid added 34 points and 13 rebounds for the 76ers, who blew a 16-point third-quarter lead and trailed 105-100 with two minutes left in regulation before closing out the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run.

Jayson Tatum shook off an 0-of-8 shooting start to finish with 24 points and 18 rebounds and help key the Celtics’ comeback in regulation. Jaylen Brown ended with 23 points and Smart had 21.

Game 5 will take place Tuesday in Boston.
 

Suns withstand Jokic’s 53 points to pull even with Nuggets

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker each scored 36 points and the Phoenix Suns overcame a monster game from Nikola Jokic to earn a 129-124 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the teams’ Western Conference semifinal.

The Suns recorded their second straight home win to even the series at 2-2 despite Jokic amassing a Nuggets’ playoff-record 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting.

Booker had 17 points in the third quarter to help Phoenix take a 98-92 lead into the fourth, and the Suns stretched the advantage to 116-106 on Landry Shamet’s 3-pointer with 4:56 left.

Denver countered with a 12-5 run to close within 121-118 with under two minutes remaining, but the Suns kept the West’s top seed at bay by going 8 for 8 from the foul line in the closing stages.

Jokic’s 53 points were a career high and eclipsed the Nuggets’ single-game record for a playoff game of 50, set twice by teammate Jamal Murray in 2020.

Shamet delivered four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 19 points off the bench for Phoenix, which will head back to Denver for Tuesday’s Game 5. The home team has won every meeting in the series thus far.

Joel Embiid conceded he has not fully recovered from injury, but is determined to help the Philadelphia 76ers overcome the Boston Celtics.

Embiid was named the new NBA MVP on Tuesday but his comeback from a sprained ligament did not go according to plan a day later as he scored just 15 points in a 121-87 defeat to Boston.

Celtics' win tied the series at 1-1 heading into Game 3 in Philadelphia on Friday.

And while Embiid acknowledged he was never going to be at 100 per cent, he did not feel another few days of rest would have made much of a difference.

"The way I saw it, what I have, I'm supposed to be out for four-to-six weeks or something like that," Embiid said.

"I'm not gonna be 100 per cent for that whole time. I'm not gonna be fully healed for that whole time. I felt pretty good to play and I feel like I can help the team defensively and offensively.

"Obviously, offensively, I wasn't as aggressive. I was just trying to let the game come to me. Then defensively, just protecting the rim. I think I did a fine job when it comes to that. So I just felt like being up 1-0 and having a chance to go up 2-0 against this type of team.

"I felt like just get this [comeback] out of the way. Disappointed by the loss but that's a step towards getting back to myself.

"I have a lot of work to do to make sure I'm ready for Friday."

For Embiid, there is nothing that will now stop him from trying to push the Sixers to glory.

"I play through a lot. Last year, broken face, fingers, played through it all," he said.

"Even with the concern that I could lose my vision if I got hit. So I'll keep playing through anything.

"We've got a big chance [to win an NBA title], so we've got to take advantage of it and make sure we're all ready for Game 3."

The Boston Celtics must take pride in their Game 2 display against the Philadelphia 76ers, and embrace the challenge of a hostile road game, says Jaylen Brown.

Joel Embiid's return from injury could not inspire the 76ers on Wednesday as Boston cruised to a 121-87 victory to tie the series.

Brown top scored with 25 points, as Embiid and James Harden, who scored 45 points in the 76ers' Game 1 win, were kept under wraps.

Next up is a trip to Philadelphia for Game 3, but Brown believes the Celtics have nothing to fear.

"I think we've just got to take more pride in ourselves. That's it," Brown told the media.

"I just feel like we underperformed last game. We wanted to come out and play to the best of our ability, and that's what we did.

"Hostile environment. But it should be fun. We should all be excited to embrace that challenge."

Coach Joe Mazzulla was blunt in his assessment of his team's reaction to their defeat in Game 1.

"They were angry, frustrated," he said. "Angry and p*****. Yes [I liked that]."

While Jayson Tatum struggled to make too much of an impact, Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points from the bench for Boston, tying a playoff record for the Celtics in the process as he sunk six three-pointers.

"Our strength is our depth," Brogdon told reporters.

"The way the roster is constructed, we got guys like me, Derrick [White], Grant [Williams] that are playing behind our two superstars and ready to [contribute] when we can."

Celtics guard Marcus Smart, meanwhile, credited Brown's on-court leadership.

"We've got to tip our hats to him, he started that whole momentum for us," Smart said. "We just had to follow his lead.

"When you've got one of your best players setting the tone like that, it's hard for you not to follow. Our defense has been slipping and we wanted to come out and get back to what we do best."