Payton Pritchard’s huge night propels Celtics over 76ers in Game 4

“It’s more of a flow state, as I like to say,” Pritchard said. “It’s like when you get into that flow state, that’s obviously the rhythm of how you dribble, the movements you can make while shooting and making shots, but it feels good.”

Pritchard added that he likes to try to make sure he reaches his flow state in his daily practices to make sure it feels natural in games as well. Both Tatum and Jaylen Brown — two obsessive gym rats — took particular note of how hard Pritchard works, with Tatum calling his work ethic “relentless.”

That work ethic gives Pritchard room to chatter a little, and for whatever reason, Pritchard’s target Sunday was a jubilant Reggie Miller, who seemed thoroughly amused every time Pritchard turned around and barked something at him.

Pritchard explained that he loved Miller.

He added: “I lose consciousness in those moments, so I don’t really know what to say sometimes.” “But it helps.”

Pritchard finished with 32 points on 12-for-21 shooting, falling short of the Celtics’ record for points off the bench in a playoff game by two.

Joel Embiid’s return was no problem

Embiid’s return from an appendectomy seemed to inject some energy into the Philadelphia crowd at first, and Embiid quickly got Neemias Queta into foul trouble before dominating his matchup against Nikola Vucevic on several possessions.

However, the Celtics weathered the storm dutifully, and by halftime, the air was largely outside the building. Embiid’s return may create more problems for the Sixers than it solves.

For one thing, Embiid finished with a 37.8 usage percentage, while Tyrese Maxey’s usage dropped from 34 percent in Game 3 to 19.3 in Game 4.

That’s a trade the Celtics should be very happy to make. Embiid led the Sixers with 26 points, but needed to shoot 9-for-21 to do so, and was 1-for-6 from deep. Every two-pointer Embiid hits is a shot Maxey can’t hit, which is pressure the Sixers fail to put on the Celtics’ defense. Maxey is incredibly dynamic — a quick-twitch guard with a silky three-point jumper and an instant fast break when the Sixers don’t get the ball out of the net. With Embiid, the Sixers give up a tremendous amount of their transition potential. Maxey is the offensive threat in this series for the Celtics, not Embiid.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Embiid’s presence makes everything much easier for the Celtics because it gives them a target to attack. Gone are the days when Embiid was flying to hit the rim. When the Celtics put him at catcher, they can create a lot of good options.

“[Embiid] “It’s so effective that you have to know what you’re willing to live with, what you’re willing to get rid of, and you have to be prepared to do it,” Mazzola said.

That’s true, but the problem for the Sixers is that what the Celtics seem willing to live with is Embiid trying to beat them instead of Maxey, and Embiid looking ready to play more than 30 minutes.

Jayson Tatum put it away

The Celtics were in great shape after Pritchard’s first-half explosion, but there was one problem: Brown and Tatum were both struggling offensively, and the Celtics needed one or both of them to pick things up in the second half to close out the win.

What the Celtics got was “both,” but Tatum in particular once again looked like his old self — 30 points, 8-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds and 11 assists.

He converted a three-point play on the Celtics’ first possession of the second half (blocking a 3-pointer by Kelly Oubre), and hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth, pushing a 21-point lead to 24. His 25 points in the second half were several bridges too far for the Sixers to cross.

Jordan Walsh played some high-energy minutes

Celtics substitutes scored 32 of the Celtics’ 56 points in the first half. Pritchard was clearly the catalyst with 18 points, but Luka Garza, Baylor Sherman and Jordan Walsh scored three-pointers to increase the lead to more than 20.

Walsh also played some aggressive defense on Maxey, hounding the Sixers star around the pick-and-roll on one play in particular where Maxey was clearly intent on hitting his first shot of the game.