NBA Notes: Sixers, Joel Embiid, Celtics, Nets, Noah Clowney

76ers

Joel Embiid finally got a late game runway again. It just did not end in a win.

Embiid returned for the final 7 minutes and 30 seconds of Friday’s 109-108 loss to Boston even though he entered the night with a 20 minute cap.

The Sixers are easing him back into his rhythm and conditioning after missing so much time since February. And it showed. Offensively it was disjointed. The timing was not all there. But this is what ramp up looks like.

Coach Nick Nurse told reporters the staff debated whether to stick with the defensive spark of Adem Bona or go back to Embiid. Nurse said they chose a little of both and felt Embiid made winning plays at both ends.

He did not score in the fourth beyond three free throws. But Boston shaded him hard and that attention created clean looks for others.

Embiid admitted that the fatigue was real.

“I was tired” he said. “Find your rhythm. You get used to it. There is nothing like playing basketball.”

Tyrese Maxey also said it was an important step. He thought Embiid’s traffic creation helped free up shooters even if the pick and roll timing between the two stars was not crisp.

Philadelphia opens a three game road swing Sunday in Brooklyn.

Celtics

Boston saw the same movie. They just handled the ending better.

The Celtics coughed up more than half of a 24 point cushion. Payton Pritchard could not make a jumper and still swung the game with effort. One extra possession here. One steal there. Jaylen Brown kept finishing what Pritchard sparked.

And Boston held off that final Embiid look to close out the same 109-108 scoreline that burned them opening night.

Coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters that the Celtics simply kept playing through mistakes. That is backed up by the numbers. Boston won second chance points 17-11 and forced 18 turnovers while committing only nine.

They are finding ways to control the hustle categories even with shooting variance and rotation uncertainty. They are top 10 in both offense and defense through six games. It does not always look clean. But it has traveled.

Nets

Brooklyn is 0-5. Noah Clowney is shooting 25 percent. And the coaching staff is still telling him to let it fly.

“Just keep shooting it” coach Jordi Fernandez said, via Dan Martin of the New York Post.

Brooklyn needs his size, rebounding and verticality. The front office picked up his option for 2026-27 before the season started. They still believe.

Fernandez also stuck with veterans Tyrese Martin and Terance Mann late Wednesday against Atlanta rather than rookies Egor Demin and Ben Saraf, as relayed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

Demin has made nine threes in 22 attempts but has yet to try a single two-pointer. So it’s no surprise Fernandez said they want him to touch the paint.

— Mann has been solid in his first year after his Clippers extension kicked in. Andrew Crane of the Post wrote that Ziaire Williams has a minor back fracture but is hopeful for a Sunday return versus the Sixers.

— Brooklyn is last in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Per C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News, Fernandez said that Nic Claxton needs to set the identity. Fernandez added that Claxton is hard on himself but the belief internally remains high.