Jaylen Brown's Boston Celtics spoil Joel Embiid's return in win over Philadelphia 76ers

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points as the Boston Celtics rolled past Philadelphia 121-87 on Wednesday night, spoiling the return of new league MVP Joel Embiid. The series is tied at one game apiece as the Eastern Conference semi-final shifts to Game 3 on Friday.

"I think we've just got to take more pride in ourselves. That's it," Brown said. "I just feel like we underperformed last game. We wanted to come out and play to the best of our ability. And that's what we did."

The Celtics rallied together to orchestrate their opponents' downfall. Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points, Derrick White and Marcus Smart contributed 15 points apiece, and Jayson Tatum was held to seven points.

On the other end of the court, they proved to be just as impressive by limiting a 76ers team that hit 17 three-pointers in its Game 1 win to just six of 30 from beyond the arc on Wednesday.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla echoed that sentiment, saying: "I thought we just had a defensive presence about us and that led to our offense. And then we just did a great job of playing great, fluid offense throughout the game".

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Tobias Harris was the man leading the offensive charge for the 76ers, in place of James Harden who missed all six three-pointers and shot two for 14 overall.

Embiid produced only slightly better numbers, finishing with 15 points and five blocks in his first game back from a sprained right knee that caused him to miss the final game of the 76ers' first-round sweep of Brooklyn.

The recent MVP winner was cleared to play by doctors and training staff following a pregame, on-court workout, but said it could take four to six weeks for his injury to heal. The opportunity to take a 2-0 lead ultimately made him want to play - even if there was rust.

"I felt pretty good to play and I felt like I could help the team," he said. "I feel like I just got this out the way. Disappointed by the loss. But that's a step toward getting back to myself."

The rustiness showed as Embiid started slowly on the front foot, with the 76ers struggling to make shots from outside the paint. Fortunately, he proved essential in the back court, blocking an early shot by Smart and then forcing White to adjust another attempt.

Although his team were unable to emulate their efforts from Game 1, they'll likely be fired up for the return trip to Philadelphia for Game 3.

Brown confirmed as much after the game, stating that he expects to face a 76ers team motivated after losing for the first time this postseason.

"Hostile environment. But it should be fun," he said. "We should all be excited to embrace that challenge."