The Philadelphia 76ers completed one of basketball’s most challenging feats Saturday night, overturning a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Boston Celtics 109-100 in a decisive Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round matchup.
Joel Embiid dominated with 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Tyrese Maxey contributed 30 points and 11 rebounds in the crucial victory. The triumph marks just the 14th time in NBA history that any franchise has rallied from being down 3-1 in a playoff series.
“We handled playing (in a hostile environment) just enough, but I think it was really good for us to experience it,” said 76ers head coach Nick Nurse.
The seventh-seeded 76ers now advance to face the third-seeded New York Knicks, with Game 1 of their second-round series scheduled for Monday night.
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla pointed to Embiid’s return as the turning point in the series. “What changed in the series is Joel Embiid came back, and they’re a completely different team,” Mazzulla explained.
The star center had been sidelined since April 6 following emergency appendix surgery during a team road trip in Texas, but returned to play the final three contests of the series.
Despite trailing 99-98 after Neemias Queta’s pair of free throws, Philadelphia seized control when Maxey erupted for eight consecutive points, extending the lead to 107-98 with just 15 seconds remaining.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe provided valuable support with 23 points, while Paul George chipped in 13. The 76ers received minimal bench production, with only three points coming from reserves, all scored by Quentin Grimes.
Boston played without star forward Jayson Tatum, who was scratched due to left knee stiffness. Tatum had exited Game 6 early in the third quarter with a leg injury and was averaging 23.3 points and 10.7 rebounds through six playoff appearances this season.
The six-time All-Star had been working back from a devastating right Achilles rupture suffered in last May’s playoffs, returning to action March 6 and averaging 21.8 points and 10.0 rebounds across 16 regular-season games.
Jaylen Brown paced the Celtics with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Derrick White contributed 26 points. Queta provided 17 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds off the bench. Boston starters Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. were held scoreless, though reserves Payton Pritchard (13 points) and Sam Hauser (11 points) offered some offensive spark.
The Celtics struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 26.5% of their three-point attempts (13 of 49) and shooting 39.8% overall (37 of 93). Philadelphia was more efficient, making 39.3% from long distance (11 of 28) and 47.6% from the field (39 of 82).
“We’re always going to play to the strength of our team,” Mazzulla said.
“In the last two games and portions of this one, we guarded the ball very well,” Nurse noted. “We weren’t giving them great looks. That probably for the whole series was the big key.”
Philadelphia burst out of the gate with nine unanswered points and extended their advantage to 30-15 on an Embiid jumper with 1:55 left in the opening period. The visitors held a 32-19 edge after the first quarter.
The Celtics responded with 18 of the first 22 second-quarter points, briefly taking their only lead of the night at 37-36 following a Pritchard three-pointer with 6:52 remaining in the half. However, Philadelphia regrouped to carry a 55-50 advantage into the locker room.
An 8-0 surge gave the 76ers a 63-52 cushion in the third quarter, and they appeared to take command when Edgecombe’s three-pointer pushed the margin to 84-66 with 2:24 left in the period. Philadelphia led 88-75 entering the final frame.
Boston mounted one last charge, opening the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run that trimmed the deficit to a single point at 92-91 with 7:59 to play. The contest remained tight at 95-94 with 5:52 on the clock.
“(The Celtics) just played in transition for about 12 straight minutes, and then we finally got them stopped to get in their sets,” Nurse explained. “Defensively, that was the difference for us in the last three minutes. We had them in halfcourt until maybe the final 90 seconds when they were just coming up and firing.”
Despite the disappointing outcome, Mazzulla remained positive about his team’s approach. “Loved the looks that we got, loved the process that we had, but hate the result,” he said.
