76ers beat Celtics 109-100 in Game 7

The NBA story here is simple on the surface — Philadelphia went into Boston on Saturday, May 2, and won the kind of game the franchise usua(nba.com)e series, had never come back from that hole before, and were facing a Celtics team that won 56 games and had home court. Then they won 109-100 anyway, and the whole East bracket changed. (nba.com) ### Why does this feel bigger than one G(cbssports.com)phia had been 0-18 in series after falling behind 3-1 before this comeback, and Boston had the profile of a team that should not be losing a first-round series to a No. 7 seed at home. That’s why this lands like a franchise exhale for the Sixers and a franchise alarm bell for the Celtics. (nba.com) ### How did Philadelphia control the game? The(nba.com)out one minute of the night, opened with a 32-19 first quarter, and pushed the margin as high as 18. Boston made a fourth-quarter run, but Philadelphia spent almost the entire game dictating pace and shot quality instead of hanging on by its fingernails. (nba.com) ### Who actually swung it? Joel Embiid was the center of everything. He finished with(nba.com) 7 without needing a miracle. Tyrese Maxey mattered too as the pressure-release valve, but Embiid was the reason the game had shape — scoring, drawing help, and keeping Boston’s defense tilted toward him all night. (espn.com) ### What happened to Boston? The cleanest explanation is shot math and missing firepower. Boston went just 13-f(nba.com)atum was also absent, with ESPN’s recap noting a Tatum-less Celtics team, which left Jaylen Brown carrying a huge burden even in a 33-point effort. Boston usually survives by overwhelming teams with spacing and volume. In Game 7, that machine sputtered. (espn.com) ### Was this really a historic comeback? Yes — and that matters because (espn.com)NBA.com marked Philadelphia’s win as the franchise’s first series comeback from 3-1 after 18 previous failures, while ESPN called it the 14th such comeback in NBA history. The exact historical count varies by source here, but the bigger point holds: this is uncommon territory, and Philadelphia had never done it before. (nba.com) ### What changes now? The bracket flips imme(espn.com) the Eastern Conference semifinals, with the next round already slotted to begin May 4. That means the Sixers go from survival mode to a rivalry series almost overnight, while Boston goes from contender math to offseason questions in less than 48 hours. (cbssports.com) ### Why is Boston’s loss such a big deal? Because 56-win teams aren’t supposed to go out like this, espe(nba.com) how every decision gets judged. The roster, the shot profile, the late-series adjustments, all of it gets re-litigated now because the Celtics had the better seed, the better record, and the home floor, and still lost four of the last five. (cbssports.com) ### Bottom line Philadelphia didn’t jus(cbssports.com)biid finally delivering the kind of closeout that changes how people talk about a team. Now they get the Knicks. Boston gets a very long summer. (nba.com)