Without Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers went into the TD Garden last night and stole Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs from the Boston Celtics with a 119-115 victory. 

Paul Reed got the start for the 76ers at center and after a shaky first half, he came alive in the in the second, finishing the night with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and four clutch free throws in the final minutes of the game. Reed also got an ear full from PJ Tucker in the middle of the fourth.

PJ Tucker letting Paul Reed hear it during timeout in the 4th quarter

Tyrese Maxey touched on the incident above in his postgame press conference, saying that after the barrage of rebounds by the Boston Celtics, he thought PJ Tucker was going to grab Paul Reed by the jersey because he was so mad at the effort the young Sixers’ center was giving on the glass. 

Tyrese Maxey on PJ Tucker and Paul Reed

Paul Reed responded with four clutch free throws down the stretch, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block on the night.

For the first time in the “Process Era” – Embiid’s teammates got the job done >>

This is why PJ Tucker (and James Harden) is beyond important to the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team in the playoffs. Year after year, we saw the lack of leadership in the locker room and now with their backs up against the wall while Joel Embiid is receiving from an LCL sprain, you have Tucker and Harden getting in the ear of Paul Reed and giving him the tough love he needs to help this team as their starting center. 

Just think about it for a minute. While Ben Simmons was crying in the locker room with Klutch Sports and Rich Paul on the line because his teammates were being “mean” to him, you now have veteran DOGS like Tucker and Harden who aren’t going to sit there quietly when someone needs to hear from them. 

Reed, who got an ear full from Tucker during Round 1 of the playoffs against the Nets, has been on record multiple times stating that he loves the constructive criticism, even if he’s getting chewed out. 

Kyle Neubeck – Philly Voice – Paul Reed Quote

Originally tweeted by Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) on May 2, 2023.

Reed talked about PJ Tucker last night following the game. 

With a 1-0 series lead in the second round of the playoffs, the Sixers will face Boston yet again on Wednesday night. Will they be able to battle their way to a 2-0 series lead? It’s definitely possible, but they already did their job by stealing one game on the road.

While Joel Embiid’s status for Wednesday night is still up in the air, the Sixers’ depth is built to withstand Boston. While they may not be able to do so for a full seven games, stealing Game 1 was important and just bought Embiid some more time to get right for the rest of the series. 

Read Full Game 1 Recap Here >>

NBC Sports Philly trolls Boston after Game 1 upset >>

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