Celtics sweep 76ers, will face Raps in East semis

The Boston Celtics booked their ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 110-106 to complete a first-round sweep.

Kemba Walker scored a game-high 32 points with four rebounds, four assists, and a pair of blocks. Jayson Tatum added a 28-point, 15-rebound double-double with four assists, two blocks, and a steal of his own.

With fellow All-Star Ben Simmons out of action due to a knee injury, Joel Embiid shouldered the load for the 76ers with 30 points on 8-of-18 shooting, plus 10 rebounds.

76ers forward Tobias Harris finished with 20 points - his highest point total of the series - despite briefly leaving the game in the second half following a hard fall in the third quarter.

After receiving stitches above his left eye and being cleared of a possible concussion, Harris returned late in the fourth. But it was too little, too late, as the 76ers were swept for the first time since 1999.

For Philadelphia, the loss marks the end of a tumultuous 2019-20 campaign. The front office decided to move on from the likes of All-Star wing Jimmy Butler and sharpshooter JJ Redick last summer in favor of re-signing Harris to a five-year, $180-million extension, and adding veteran big man Al Horford on a four-year, $109-million deal.

However, with Simmons suffering a subluxation of his left kneecap on Aug. 5, the 76ers' dearth of backcourt and wing depth was laid bare. Throughout their first-round series, the team struggled to get Embiid the ball in the post - and when the hulking center did get it while double-teamed, he often couldn't locate perimeter shooters to capitalize on the Celtics' unbalanced defensive pressure.

"We could never find a rhythm this year. It is disappointing," Embiid said postgame, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "There's a lot of regrets. I felt like the focus was not always there. And we got to do better, we just got to look at ourselves in the mirror and just do better."

Prior to the Game 4 loss, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey reported head coach Brett Brown is expected to be relieved of his duties. Brown, whose run with the 76ers began in 2013, is the league's seventh-longest tenured head coach.

Whether general manager Elton Brand could also be among the casualties after Philadelphia's lost season remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the Celtics' next opponent will be the defending champion Toronto Raptors, who completed their sweep of the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

This is the fourth consecutive postseason in which Boston has advanced past the first round. The team fell in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals.