76ers eliminate Celtics, 109-100 in Game 7
- Philadelphia beat Boston 109-100 in Game 7 on May 2, with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey closing out a 3-1 comeback. - Embiid finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, while Maxey added 30 and 11 as Boston’s offense stalled late. - It sends the Sixers to a second-round series with the Knicks — and ends their long playoff drought against Boston.
The NBA part is simple — Philadelphia went into Boston for Game 7 and walked out with the series. The bigger thing is what kind of win this was. The 76ers were down 3-1, looked close to dead a week ago, and then beat the Celtics three straight times, finishing it with a 109-100 road win on Saturday, May 2. That flips the East bracket fast — Boston is out in round one, and Philadelphia gets New York next. (nba.com) ### How did the Sixers actually win this? They got the two stars they needed. Joel Embiid controlled the middle of the game and the shape of the floor, finishing with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tyrese Maxey gave them the speed and downhill pressure Boston never really solved, add(nba.com)hes and still own the closing minutes. (aljazeera.com) ### Why does the 3-1 part matter so much? Because that is the part that changes the story from “good Game 7 win” to “franchise-level swing.” Philadelphia became the 13th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit, and NBA.com’s playoff cov(aljazeera.com)one of the rare playoff reversals the league remembers. (usatoday.com) ### What went wrong for Boston? Boston scored 100 points on 39.8% shooting and just 26.5% from 3. In a Game 7, that is usually the whole story. The Celtics still hung around because their defense kept giving them chances, but the offense never found enough rhythm to take control. When Philadelphia made the last push, Boston did not have the shot-making to answer. (nba.com) ### Was this just Embiid, or more than that? More than that. Embiid was the center of gravity, but the win worked because Philadelphia finally looked balanced. Maxey handled the pressure moments. The Sixers also defended well enough to keep Boston from turning the game into a three-point avalanche — whic(nba.com)Philadelphia won the superstar battle and the style battle. (espn.com) ### Why is the Boston angle so big? Because this is not just any opponent for Philadelphia. NBA.com noted that it is the Sixers’ first playoff series win over the Celtics since 1982. That is a very long time for one rivalry to lean one way. So even before you get to the comeback or the bracket impact, there is a(espn.com)the team that has so often ended its season. (nba.com) ### What happens next? The Knicks. That second-round matchup was set as soon as Game 7 ended, and the turnaround is quick, with series scheduling already pointing to a Monday start. So the Sixers do not really get a long celebration window. They get a huge emotional win, then a fast pivot into a much louder, much nastier East playoff series. (nba.com) ### Why does this reshape the East? Boston was the No. 2 seed, and Philadelphia was the No. 7 seed. When a lower seed erases a 3-1 hole and knocks out that kind of team, the bracket stops behaving normally. Now the Knicks get a Sixers team coming off a massive surge, and the East loses one of its biggest favorites before the second round even starts. (nba.com) ### Bottom line? Philadelphia did not just survive. It changed its whole postseason ceiling in one night. The Sixers turned a near-elimination into a historic comeback, knocked out Boston in Boston, and dragged a lot of old baggage off the franchise in the process. Now comes the harder part — proving this was not the peak, just the turn.
