The Sixers lost to the Boston Celtics, who took a 2-1 lead with their 114-102 victory in Game 3 of the best-of-seven series in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Jayson Tatum hit 27 points to lead six Boston players in double numbers.

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Al Horford made 17 for the Celtics, who regained home-court advantage with a second win in a row after dropping game in on Boston.

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Jaylen Brown wore custom shoes to pay tribute to his late grandmother. His grandparents were also influential figures in his life. Brown spent his summer in Michigan with his maternal grandmother, Diane Varnado. She was a former public school teacher and social worker.

It was an emotional night in Philadelphia as Sixers center Joel Embiid received his Most Valuable Player trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a pregame ceremony. He accepted his trophy with his parents standing by and addressed fans holding his toddler son, Arthur.

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He scored 30 points with 13 rebounds and four blocked shots in his second game back from a sprained knee. But James Harden connected on just three of 14 shots and Tyrese Maxey scored 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting.

The Celtics will now prepare for the hostile environment at the Well Fargo Center.

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Tatum scored just seven points in Game 2. He bounced back to add 10 rebounds five assists, two steals, and a blocked shot, adding up 10 points in the first four minutes.

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The Sixers kept it close and led by one after the first quarter but they couldn’t maintain the momentum. After the halftime break, they were down by seven points and never get the lead. Philadelphia fans were soon moving towards the exits after a disappointing end to a night that started with loud chants of MVP for Cameroon’s Embiid.