The 76ers beat the Celtics in a playoff series for the first time since 1982 thanks to the presence of a major player.
The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off a historic comeback to break a 44-year drought by beating the Boston Celtics 109-100 in a playoff series after being down 3-1. Prior to Saturday night’s victory, the 76ers held the NBA record for going 0-18 when trailing 3-1 in the series. Impressively, they did so in Game 7 on the road. What was clear, however, when things shifted in Game 4, that the absence of a key player, and his addition in that contest, was a gamechanger: Joel Embiid.
The series didn’t look the same once Embiid came back, and he capped it off with perhaps the most elite postseason performance he’s had in his career in a complete masterclass to record 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in the victory. Between that, Tyrese Maxey’s clutch late play to result in 30 total points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, and the absence of star Jayson Tatum, Philadelphia was able to deliver one of their most noteworthy playoff wins.
For Boston, Tatum being ruled out really reshaped the game, with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla having to trot out a lineup that had never played together before – and to do so in a must-win Game 7. Mazzulla never returned to that group once they got down early, as Philadelphia took that and ran with a 15-point lead early. The Celtics were eventually able to get back into things, but the absence of Tatum was just too much to recover.
To read more about that perspective and the end of Boston’s season, here is the full story from Celtics Roundtable writer Brady Farkas.
For Philadelphia, it marked their first postseason series win against Boston since 1982 in one of the most storied rivalries in NBA playoff history. Game 7 was somewhat defined by the major absence of one star – Tatum – and the major presence of another in Embiid, who simply altered how the Sixers could play the game.
To read more on how Embiid was the gamechanger for Philly to break their drought, here is the full story from 76ers Roundtable writer Wes Dixon.
It was hard to imagine early on in this series that the Sixers would take things back from Boston, but they’ll now set their sights on yet another playoff rival in the New York Knicks, who stifled Philly’s last playoff push two years ago.