Published May 3, 2026
Joel Embiid had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, Tyrese Maxey had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the host Boston Celtics 109-100 in Game 7 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoff series.
The 76ers won the final three games of the series on Saturday after losing Games 1, 3 and 4.
This is the first time in franchise history that Philadelphia has overcome a 3-1 series deficit, and the 14th time in league history that a team has bounced back from such a position.
“We were more than ready to play (in a hostile environment), but I think it was really good to experience that,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after the game.
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia will play the third-seeded New York Knicks on Monday in Game 1 of their second-round series.
“What changed in the series was Joel Embiid came back and it was a completely different team,” Celtics manager Joe Mazzula said.
Embiid hasn’t played since April 6, when he needed an emergency appendectomy during the team’s road trip to Texas, but he appeared on the court for the last three games.
Second-seeded Boston fell behind 99-98 on two free throws by Niemias Keta, but Maxey scored the next eight points to put Philadelphia ahead 107-98 with 15 seconds left.
Philadelphia got 23 points from rookie VJ Edgecomb. Paul George added 13 points. The 76ers bench scored a total of three points, all of which came from Quentin Grimes.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum was removed from the game due to stiffness in his left knee. He left Game 6 with 4:03 left in the third quarter due to a left foot injury.
Tatum appeared in six playoff games this season, averaging 23.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The six-time All-Star forward averaged 21.8 points and 10.0 boards in 16 regular-season games since returning on March 6 from a torn right Achilles tendon suffered in the playoffs last May.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 33 points and nine rebounds. Derrick White had 26 points and Keta had 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench. Celtics starters Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. failed to score. Reserve Payton Pritchard contributed 13 points and Sam Hauser 11 points.
The Celtics shot 26.5 – (13 of 49) from 3-point range and 39.8 – (37 of 93) from the field.
“We’re always going to play to the best of our team’s ability,” Mazzula said.
The Sixers made 11 of 28 (39.3 percent) from long range and 47.6 percent (39 of 82) from the field.
“We guarded the ball really well the last two games and part of this game,” Nurse said. “We weren’t giving them great looks, and that was probably the big key for the whole series.”
Philadelphia scored the first nine points of the game and took a 30-15 lead on Embiid’s jumper with 1:55 left in the first quarter. At the 12 minute mark, the 76ers led 32-19.
Boston scored 18 of its first points in the second quarter, taking its first and only lead at 37-36 on Pritchard’s 3-pointer with 6:52 left in the first half. Philadelphia fought back and led 55-50 at halftime.
An 8-0 run gave Philadelphia a 63-52 lead, and Edgecombe’s 3-pointer gave the 76ers an 84-66 lead with 2:24 left in the third. The score was 88-75 after three quarters.
Boston started the fourth quarter on a 16-4 run to cut the lead to one point, 92-91, with 7:59 left. The 76ers led 95-94 with 5:52 left.
“(The Celtics) just played in transition for about 12 minutes straight and we were finally able to shut them down and get into the set,” Nurse said.
“Defensively, that was the difference for us in the last three minutes. We put them in half court and just started attacking them until probably the last 90 seconds.”
“I liked the look I got, I liked the process, but I didn’t like the result,” Mazzula said.
