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

Brad Botkin

James Herbert

Sam Quinn

Apr 29, 2026

12:30 am ET

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6 min read

Imagn Images

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 ever