76ers erase 3-1 deficit, eliminate Celtics 109-100 in Game 7
- Philadelphia stunned Boston 109-100 in Game 7 on May 2, completing a 3-1 comeback and knocking the Celtics out at TD Garden. - Joel Embiid scored 34 with 12 rebounds, Tyrese Maxey added 30-11-7, and Boston played without Jayson Tatum because of left knee stiffness. - The win sends the 7-seed Sixers to a second-round series with the Knicks after Philadelphia’s first playoff series victory over Boston since 1982.
Philadelphia just pulled off the kind of series win that changes how a season gets remembered. The 76ers went into Boston on Saturday, May 2, and beat the Celtics 109-100 in Game 7, finishing off a comeback from a 3-1 hole and sending the No. 2 seed home. That matters on its own. But the bigger thing is who they did it against, where they did it, and how rare this kind of turnaround still is. (apnews.com) ### Why does this feel bigger than a normal Game 7? Because Boston had all the usual advantages — home court, the better seed, and a 3-1 lead that normally ends the conversation. Instead, Philadelphia became the 14th team in NBA history to recover from that deficit. The Sixers had never done it before, and Boston had been 32-0 in playoff series after going up 3-1. That is why this lands as more than just one upset. (apnews.com) ### What actually decided Game 7? Philadelphia led for almost the entire night and punched first hard. The Sixers were up 32-19 after one quarter, built an 18-point second-half lead, then survived Boston’s late push when the margin got down to one with under four minutes left. The finishing burst came from Tyrese Maxey — a reverse layup, then another drive off a similar action — right when the game was wobbling. (nba.com) ### How good were Embiid and Maxey? This was the version of the Sixers that always made them dangerous. Joel Embiid put up 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Maxey added 30 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. That is star production and late-game control in the same package. When Philadelphia needed half-court answers, those two gave them enough of them. (espn.com) ### What happened to Boston? The biggest immediate issue was Jayson Tatum not playing because of left knee stiffness. That changed the shape of everything Boston wanted to do late. Jaylen Brown still scored 33, and Derrick White had 26, but the Celtics also missed a bunch of jumpers at the worst time, including a wide-open Payton Pritchard 3 that could have put them ahead(espn.com) tests — Boston ran out of clean answers. (apnews.com) ### Why is the seeding part important? Philadelphia did this as the No. 7 seed against the No. 2 seed. The NBA noted that the Sixers are the first seven-seed to beat a two-seed since the league moved to best-of-seven first-round series in 2003. Basically, this was not just a comeback. It was a bracket-buster too. (apnews.com)ics-Sixers history a bit? At least for this era, yes. Boston has spent decades being a recurring playoff problem for Philadelphia. This is the Sixers’ first playoff series win over the Celtics since 1982. So even if Philadelphia’s season ends next round, this one result still breaks a very long pattern. (nba.com)omes next now? The reward is not exactly gentle. Philadelphia now moves on to face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The official NBA playoff pages already list the matchup, and the league’s schedule page has the second round underway now that the series is set. So the Sixers do not get much time to admire this one. (nba.com) ### Bottom line The Sixers did the hard part that usually never happens — they took a 3-1 deficit, walked into Boston, and finished the job. Now the question flips fast. Was this the peak, or the start of something messier and more interesting against New York?
