NBA playoffs winners and losers: Joel Embiid's gutsy effort leads 76ers, Jalen Brunson takes control

Just 19 days removed from an emergency appendectomy, Joel Embiid had a remarkable performance to keep the 76ers' season alive

The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive Tuesday night with a gutty road win over the Boston Celtics. On the heels of an ugly Game 4 loss at home, Philadelphia responded with a dominant second half -- particularly from Joel Embiid in his second game back after an emergency appendectomy. 

Elsewhere in the East, the New York Knicks took control of their series with the Atlanta Hawks with a commanding 126-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks at home. Now up 3-2, the Knicks have rebounded with back-to-back wins after falling behind 2-1 and can advance with a win in Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday. 

Later on, the San Antonio Spurs became the second team in the West to advance to Round 2 by taking care of business against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5. 

Here are the biggest winners and losers of Tuesday night's action.

Loser: Appendicitis (in its showdown vs. Joel Embiid)

Joel Embiid had an appendectomy 19 days ago. That he's playing basketball is remarkable. That he's able to cook the Celtics and absolutely take over the second half of a playoff game is incredible.

Embiid was the driving force behind the Sixers' Game 5 victory. In 39 minutes, he scored 33 points (12-23 FG) and dished out eight assists. Imagine the numbers he could have put up if he hadn't gotten off to such a rough start!

It was ancient history by the time Philadelphia was cruising to a comfortable win, but Embiid missed six of his first seven shots on Tuesday. Four of those misses were 3s. When those weren't going in, he decided to change his approach.

"I started going inside and found some luck," Embiid told ESPN's Lisa Salters in his walkoff interview.

After halftime, Embiid scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting and didn't take a single 3. I'm normally not a "bigs belong on the block!" guy, but it was exhilarating to watch him bully Nikola Vučević and make the Celtics look stupid for trying to front him. He hit a few vintage pull-ups and turnarounds -- you know, the stuff that makes him an impossible matchup -- in isolation, too. A truly superb showing.

A couple of weeks ago, it was fair to assume that appendicitis had effectively ended Embiid's (and Philadelphia's) season. Considering all of the other things his body has been through, maybe appendicitis never stood a chance. -- James Herbert

Winner: Jalen Brunson

This hasn't been the best series for Jalen Brunson. He hasn't shot the ball that well. His defensive vulnerabilities -- and the Hawks' ability to aggressively and successfully expose them -- have been well chronicled. But he remains a top-shelf scorer and he reminded everyone of that in Game 5 with 39 points and eight assists in the biggest game of New York's season. 

Brunson scored 22 points in the second half (17 in the fourth quarter) and went on a run of 10 straight, which included this nasty old-fashioned 3-point play:

So Jalen Brunson is cooking pic.twitter.com/RgZpzUcaQh

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) April 29, 2026

Followed by this deep pull-up on the ensuing possession:

JALEN BRUNSON HAS SCORED THE LAST 10 POINTS FOR THE KNICKS! 🧑‍🍳 Ben Stiller was LOVING it! 😅 #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/gMQQerG7kj

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 29, 2026

Brunson came into Game 5 averaging 25.5 points per game in the series; not his best, but good enough. The problem was the efficiency -- just 41% from the floor. In Game 5, he finished 15 of 23 overall and 3 of 5 from 3. He committed just one turnover and was in total control throughout. 

OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns were great. Jose Alvarado had his best game of the series in still pretty low minutes. New York's defense was fantastic. The bench came to play. They dominated the points in the paint and doubled up Atlanta's free-throw attempts, a credit to their physical advantage throughout the game. These were all factors in New York's win. 

But all that said, Brunson has to be awesome for this team to legitimately compete with the top contenders. He was all of that and more on Tuesday. -- Brad Botkin

Loser: CJ McCollum

McCollum entered Game 5 averaging nearly 25 points per game in this series. He took over Madison Square Garden and was winning the one-on-one matchup with Brunson somewhat decidedly. In Atlanta's two wins, he went for 55 points. On Tuesday, he scored just six. 

CJ McCollum tonight: 6 PTS 3/10 FGM 0/2 3FG 32 Minutespic.twitter.com/xh4eXzRCdg

— NBA Tour Dates (@NBATourDates) April 29, 2026

Josh Hart was all over McCollum, but it was also a group effort. New York ramped up its defense in Game 4 and it continued into Game 5. The rotations, the physicality, the urgency. They fought the screens, and every corner McCollum tried to turn was cut off by layers of help.

Towns cut off his penetration and blocked his 3-point attempt on one possession, and stepped up to contest a floater in the lane on another. It was a group effort, and McCollum found the sledding to be far tougher than it had been through the first four games of this series.

For Atlanta to win Game 6 back home, McCollum probably has to have another big game, but it's a fine line in putting the ball in his hands too much and allowing New York's defense to narrow its focus. Atlanta probably needs to put McCollum in better positions to create secondarily rather than always as the focal point, but of course, that requires other guys to get it going.

Jonathan Kuminga is my Game 6 X-factor. He's the ultimate wild card. If he can get it going, he can open a lot up for McCollum with the home crowd behind them. -- Brad Botkin

Winner: Grit and Grimes

Shoutout to Quentin Grimes. 

The 3 to put Philadelphia up six was big, but please focus on the grimy one-on-one defense against Jaylen Brown on the possession that followed:

Quentin Grimes the corner 3, then continues with an excellent defense on Jaylen Brown, and Joel Embiid hits the jumper to put the Sixers up 8, with 5:16 minutes remaining in regulation (with replays) pic.twitter.com/RWq0b82RSK

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 29, 2026

That is exactly the kind of effort that the Sixers needed with their season on the line against the Celtics. 

Grimes was plus-17 in 28 minutes on Tuesday. He finished with 18 points, and it was an awesome time to have a hot shooting night (5-8 FG, 4-7 3PT, 4-4 FT). Plays like the above defensive stand, though, had as much to do with Philly's victory as its offensive efficiency did. (Grimes rejected Jayson Tatum from behind on a fast break, too.)

When the Sixers trailed by 13 a couple of minutes into the second half, they could have packed it in. Instead, they dug in. Philadelphia responded with a 15-3 run, patiently finding high-quality looks on just about every offensive possession and nudging the Celtics toward their worst habits on the other end. The Sixers then dominated the fourth, holding Boston without a bucket for almost five minutes and earning their gutsiest win of the season. -- James Herbert

Winner: Victor Wembanyama

Was it an especially glamorous victory for Victor Wembanyama? No. If you're looking for one of those, Game 1 of this series more than sufficed. The numbers were subtle by Wemby's standards -- 17 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks. The glory was shared. This was a team victory. Five Spurs scored at least 15 points, but none topped 21.

But Wembanyama is the sort of player for whom any box checked is a memorable one, and he's checked quite a few of them lately. A unanimous Defensive Player of the Year trophy, for instance, and that Game 1 "first playoff victory." It was relatively tame, especially since he missed Game 3, but for the rest of his career, this series will always be a trivia question. 

The first series Wembanyama won came against Portland. He overcame a concussion and overwhelmed a lower-seeded opponent as we expect him to do many, many more times in his career. -- Sam Quinn

Loser: Donovan Clingan

As one highly drafted center rises, another stumbles. It's only Year 2 for Donovan Clingan, and he's playing on a flawed roster. Still, it's hard not to be a little concerned with what we just watched. Centers shouldn't ever shoot 14-for-46 from the field in a series. Portland was outscored by 47 points in Clingan's minutes during the series. He was too slow defensively. He didn't look ready for the moment.

Again, he's 22. We don't need to get carried away. But Portland won Robert Williams III's minutes in this series, and while Williams is a very effective player in smaller doses, he's not exactly a superstar. Portland has a lot staked on its young center, and his sophomore season was by and large a success. But this series wasn't, and that's part of why Portland's season is now over. -- Sam Quinn