76ers rally caps 3–1 comeback with 109–100 Game 7 win at TD Garden

Philadelphia just pulled off the kind of series win that usually happens to somebody else. The 76ers went into Boston on Saturday night, won Game 7 by a 109-100 score, and erased a 3-1 hole against the Celtics. That matters on its own. But the bigger thing is what it says about this Sixers team — they survived the matchup that usually breaks them, and they did it in TD Garden, against Boston, with all the baggage that name carries. (apnews.com) ### How did Philadelphia actually win this? They won the game with their stars and then didn’t waste the support around them. Joel Embiid finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tyrese Maxey added 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. V.J. Edgecombe chipped in 23, whic(apnews.com)oston’s 19 — and that cushion mattered all night. (usnews.com) ### What went wrong for Boston? The cleanest answer is shot-making and absences. Boston went 13-for-49 from 3, which is 27%, and that’s basically how a lot of Celtics wins are supposed to work — volume threes, enough makes, (usnews.com)t the offense never looked fully normal. (espn.com) ### Why does the Tatum part matter so much? Because it changes the frame of the result without erasing it. Boston was not whole. That’s real. But Philadelphia still had to close a Game 7 on the road, and teams blow those chances all the time. The Sixers were up against the Celtics’ crowd, the Celtics’ depth, and the Celtics(espn.com)ry is part of the story — but not an asterisk big enough to swallow the comeback. (apnews.com) ### Was this actually historic? Yes — in a couple of ways. This was the 14th 3-1 comeback in NBA history. It was also Philadelphia’s first time ever climbing out of a 3-1 series deficit. And there’s a very specific Boston angle here: before this, the Celtics were 32-0 in series afte(apnews.com)e’s sturdier patterns. (apnews.com) ### Why are people bringing up 1982? Because Sixers-Celtics history is heavy, and Philadelphia almost never gets the last word in it. This was the franchise’s first playoff series win over Boston since 1982. FOX also notes it was only the second Game 7 win in Sixers playoff history. (apnews.com)shut for decades. (inquirer.com) ### What does this change now? The bracket, first of all. Philadelphia advances to face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Game 1 set for Monday, May 4, in New York. That gives the East a very different look than the one many people expected when Boston went up 3-1. Instead of a Celtics second-round run, it’s the No. 7 seed Sixers moving on. (fox29.com) ### So what’s the real takeaway? For one night, the Sixers looked emotionally different. Usually this is where the collapse story writes itself. Instead, Embiid and Maxey carried the game, the role players held up, and Philadelphia beat Boston in the building where these seasons often (fox29.com) their postseason.