Payton Pritchard scores 32, Celtics lead 3-1

Payton Pritchard came off the bench for 32 points Sunday night, and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-96 for a 3-1 series lead. (espn.com) Pritchard hit six three-pointers, and Jayson Tatum finished with 30 points and 11 assists in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series. (espn.com) Boston made 24 three-pointers, a franchise playoff record, and its bench outscored Philadelphia's reserves 57-24. (nba.com) The game doubled as Joel Embiid's return. The 76ers center played after missing seven games following an appendectomy, but Philadelphia trailed 34-18 after one quarter and never got control back. (nba.com) (espn.com) Philadelphia entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed after a 45-37 regular season, while Boston finished 56-26 and holds the No. 2 seed in the East. (espn.com) Pritchard's scoring burst stood out because he outscored the entire 76ers bench by eight points by himself. He finished 12-for-21 from the field in 35 minutes. (nba.com) The Celtics are now one win from ending the series after taking Games 1, 3 and 4. Philadelphia's only win came in Game 2. (espn.com) Game 5 shifts back to Boston with the Celtics trying to close out the series after turning Embiid's return into a 32-point loss. (espn.com)