The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7, leading to a second-round matchup against the New York Knicks.
The Philadelphia 76ers are moving on to the second round of the NBA Playoffs after taking down the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics in Game 7, 109-100.
The 76ers will face Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks in Round 2.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla made the bold decision to open the game with a starting lineup that included center Luka Garza and guard Ron Harper Jr. It didn't go quite as planned as Philadelphia came out full of tenacity and speed, leading to an early lead for the 76ers. It felt as though Joel Embiid had a gravitational pull, as each time the superstar big man got the ball, Celtics defenders swarmed. This led to plenty of easy kick-out opportunities for Embiid.
The second quarter saw Derrick White perform aggressively on the offensive end, cutting heavily into Philadelphia's lead. The Boston crowd was erupting as their home team slowly but surely chipped away at the 76ers' lead. The run came largely when Embiid was on the bench while the Celtics got strong minutes from rookie Hugo Gonzalez. Heading to the locker room, Philadelphia led Boston 55-50.
Coming out of halftime, the 76ers and Celtics were going back-and-forth. The Celtics were forced into playing a small-ball lineup with centers Garza and Neemias Queta in foul trouble. Embiid took full advantage of his matchup with Jaylen Brown during that time. Fantastic ball movement by the Sixers allowed them to take their largest lead of the night, but with Embiid off the floor, the Celtics cut the lead back down to 13 points entering the final frame.
The final quarter was an absolute meltdown from Philadelphia. The Celtics brought the game within a single point, and the 76ers' offense looked stagnant. Until Tyrese Maxey delivered two clutch layups with two minutes left to play to extend the Philadelphia lead to five. He then nailed two free throws to put them up seven with 20 seconds remaining.
With their victory, the 2025-2026 76ers become just the 14th team in NBA history to complete a 3-1 comeback in the postseason and the first to do so since 2020.
Embiid was undoubtedly the MVP of the win-or-go-home game, finishing with 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and a monstrous block on 46.2% shooting and 1 of 4 shooting from three-point range in 39 minutes. There should be no questions about Embiid's desire to win, as he left it all on the floor before hobbling to the bench with less than a minute to go.
This series also proved why Paul George was paid a maximum contract by Philadelphia's front office. He was phenomenal on both ends of the floor for the entirety of the round.
Maxey sealed the game for the Sixers, finishing with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
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