Joel Embiid returned to the Philadelphia 76ers’ lineup for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night, but the host Boston Celtics received a game-high 25 points from Jaylen Brown and pulled even in the best-of-seven series by earning a 121-87 victory.

The second-seeded Celtics led by eight at halftime and took control of the game in the third quarter, when they outscored the third-seeded 76ers 35-16 to take a 92-65 advantage into the fourth.

Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to toss in 23 points for the Celtics, who won even though leading scorer Jayson Tatum finished the game with seven points in 19 minutes. Marcus Smart (15 points), Derrick White (15) and Grant Williams (12) also scored in double figures for Boston, which made 20 of its 51 (39.2 percent) 3-point attempts.

Embiid, who was named the NBA’s MVP on Tuesday, sprained his lateral collateral ligament on April 20 during Game 3 of Philadelphia’s first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. He didn’t play in Game 4, when the 76ers completed a four-game sweep of the Nets. He also sat out Philadelphia’s 119-115 Game 1 victory over Boston on Monday.

Embiid finished Game 2 with 15 points and five blocks in 27 minutes. He won a second straight scoring title by averaging 33.1 points per game during the regular season.

Tobias Harris led Philadelphia with 16 points. James Harden, who scored 45 points in Game 1, scored 12 in Game 2. The 76ers were 6 of 30 (20 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.

The Celtics led 28-22 after one quarter and increased their lead to 12 points — their largest lead of the first half — when an Al Horford 3-pointer made it 50-38 with 4:41 left in the second quarter. The 76ers missed 12 of their 13 3-point attempts in the first half and trailed 57-49 entering the third quarter.

Boston cruised from there, leading by as much as 36.

The series will continue with Game 3 in Philadelphia on Friday.

–Field Level Media

Two teams that began the second round of the NBA playoffs the same way they tipped off the first will duel again Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors continue their best-of-seven series in San Francisco.

Riding a big-time performance from Anthony Davis, a productive effort from LeBron James in a complementary role and a scrambling defensive effort on the perimeter, the Lakers stole Game 1 on the road 117-112 on Tuesday night.

The seventh-seeded club did the same thing at second-seeded Memphis in the first round, wrestling away home-court advantage from the Grizzlies with a 128-112 triumph in the series opener. Davis had 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks on that occasion.

One thing Davis didn’t do in Game 1 in the first round was play 44 minutes, which he did against the Warriors as a result of never leaving the court in the second half.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham explained afterward the strategy stemmed from a regular season in which Davis played just 56 games and averaged just 34.0 minutes on those nights.

“This is what load management is about,” Ham noted of the controversial topic. “We have to manage their loads in the regular season in order to push time a little further during this time of year. Postseason, everything is at its peak. You’ve got to pare down your rotation and you got to push your big dogs. Your big dogs got to be there early and often.”

Davis made the most of his 44 minutes, accumulating 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. The 38-year-old James was extended 40 minutes, chipping in with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

The Lakers finished with 10 blocks, effectively discouraging the smaller Warriors from attacking the hoop. Of the 106 shots the hosts took in the game, exactly half (53) were from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Warriors made 21 of the 53 (39.6 percent), but rarely got to the free-throw line, going just 5-for-6. Meanwhile, the more aggressive Lakers were rewarded with 29 foul shots, making 25.

While Warriors fans were chirping about the 29-6 disadvantage, Golden State coach Steve Kerr accepted it as a reality of the matchup.

“They are going to shoot more free throws than we are,” Kerr admitted. “I think they were No. 1 in the league and we were the last or next-to-last. So not a surprise. But that is a huge disparity and we need to bring that down.”

Fittingly, the game came down to a 3-pointer, an open 27-footer that Jordan Poole misfired with 9.7 seconds remaining and Golden State down three.

Poole had been the Warriors’ most accurate 3-point shooter in the game, making 6 of 10 attempts from deep before his critical miss. Stephen Curry (27 points) was 6-for-13, while Klay Thompson (25 points) was 6-for-16.

It was similar to the late 3-pointer Andrew Wiggins missed in Game 1 in the first round against Sacramento, a game Golden State lost 126-123.

The Warriors went on to lose Game 2 of that series on the road as well, before rebounding to take four of the last five to advance. They followed two of their three losses in that series with wins, much like they followed all six of their losses last postseason with victories en route to the NBA title.

The Lakers didn’t respond well on the road to wins in their first-round series, losing Game 2 in Memphis by 10 points and Game 5 in Memphis by 17.

–Field Level Media

After back-to-back seasons of being the runner-up for the NBA’s most coveted individual award, Joel Embiid finally is the owner of an NBA MVP trophy.

The Philadelphia 76ers center had downplayed the possibility in recent weeks but it is the clear the award he won on Tuesday night is meaningful for the 29-year-old from Cameroon.

“It’s hard to win this league; it’s hard to be successful in this league,” Embiid said after Philadelphia’s shootaround in Boston, hours ahead of Wednesday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics.

“There’s a reason why these are the best basketball players in the world. And to be sitting here and feel like I won something as far as the Most Valuable Player is great. But then again, it’s also part of my story because I’ve always felt like I was a role model — especially to my Cameroonian people and my African people — and I feel like, just looking at my story, they can look at it and be like, ‘Wow, he did it.'”

Being the best player in the NBA wasn’t on the goals list when Embiid first start bouncing an orange basketball.

“Probably the probability of someone like me, starting playing basketball at 15, to get the chance to be the MVP of the league is, I’d say, probably negative zero,” he said. “… We don’t have a lot of opportunities back in Africa in general to get to this point. But improbable doesn’t mean impossible, and you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. As long as you believe in it, and you know, keep working hard, anything can happen.”

Embiid was superb in the regular season and averaged 33.1 points to lead the NBA in scoring for the second straight season. He also averaged 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 66 games.

After the close calls where he fell short against Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic the past two seasons, Embiid received 73 of the 100 first-place votes this time around to finish well ahead of second-place Jokic and third-place Giannis Antetokounmpo, another two-time winner, of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now the player who missed his first two seasons due to foot injuries, has etched his name into NBA lore. He joined former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the lone players from Africa to win the award.

“I went through a lot, and that’s just a validation that the sacrifices and everything you went through, it’s paying off in some ways,” Embiid said. “Obviously, winning a championship is going to be way better, and we have that opportunity. But I’m just competitive.

“I want it all. I want to win everything that I can get my hands on, and everybody around me knows that. … I know I’ve always said I don’t care (about MVP), but it was just for you guys to leave me alone and not ask me questions about it. But I do care in the way that it validates all the work that you put in. And just to be sitting here, it’s amazing.”

Embiid gave credit to 76ers star James Harden, the 2017-18 MVP for the Rockets. The three-time scoring champion has made adjustments in his game to mesh with Embiid and the partnership is thriving in their first full season as teammates.

“I think since he’s been here, he won’t tell me, but I think he kind of made it his goal for me to be the MVP,” Embiid said of Harden. “He’s given up a lot. I’ve always said he is the best playmaker I’ve ever played with, and he’s the best playmaker probably in the NBA.

“He was just extremely happy for me, just like all (of my teammates) were. And that meant a lot for me. That meant a lot to me to know that your teammates care about you as much as I care about them.”

Embiid missed the first game of the playoff series with the Celtics due to a knee injury and is listed as doubtful for Game 2. But he said he hasn’t given up hope of playing Wednesday night.

The 76ers won Game 1 without him, 119-115 in Boston.

–Field Level Media