76ers Complete 3-1 Series Comeback Beating the Celtics in a Back-and-Forth Game 7

THE 76ERS HAVE PULLED OFF THE 3-1 COMEBACK AND ARE MOVING ON TO THE SECOND ROUND!

They say the two best words in sports are game seven, and it’s safe to say the 76ers and Celtics delivered on that, with Philadelphia coming out victorious in a fantastic matchup between two rivals. The 76ers battled all game long, with both teams going back-and-forth deep into the fourth quarter, but late clutch buckets from Tyrese Maxey sealed the 109-100 victory to secure the series win.

While Maxey was the closer in the win, Joel Embiid was the true do-it-all man, who was running on literal fumes and a broken knee, and a literal hole in his stomach. The Process finished with a game-high 34 points, while also adding 12 rebounds and six assists. Maxey was excellent as well, finishing with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, scoring eight of the 76ers’ final 10 points.

Jaylen Brown finished with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Derrick White added 26 points. The real X-Factor for Philadelphia was VJ Edgecombe, who drilled five threes and finished with 23 points, truly showing his difference-making compared to former disappointing seasons.

It’s the 14th time in NBA history that a team has come back down from a 3-1 series deficit, and it’s the first time the 76ers have defeated the Celtics in a playoff series since 1982. It’s also the first game seven victory for the 76ers since the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals against the Bucks.

Things started off hot for Philadelphia, with Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe hitting mid-range buckets, and Paul George kept the early run going with a dunk for a 6-0 lead. After a few misses and turnovers from both teams, Edgecombe knocked down the first three of the game, but was quickly answered on the other end by Derrick White, who hit a three for the Celtics’ first bucket of the night.

The other two 76ers starters entered the statsheet with Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. scoring layups, and the points on the paint for the 76ers continued with Edgecombe scoring a layup and Oubre slamming a dunk.

Trailing by 11, Boston finally got a consistent scoring run going with White hitting another three and Brown scoring six straight points to cut the deficit to six. The 76ers didn’t let that stand as the all-around offensive attack continued with Embiid hitting a 10 and 16-footer, Maxey and Edgecombe hitting layups, and George drilling a long three to go up 15.

In the final minute of the first quarter, Brown and Neemis Queta knocked down buckets, but Embiid answered on the other end for his 10th point of the quarter, giving the 76ers a 32-19 lead.

In the second quarter, the Celtics came out firing. Maxey scored the first bucket of the quarter, but six straight points from White and a layup from Queta cut the lead in half. Paul George ended that early run, but the Celtics kept firing away with Queta and Pritchard hitting paint shots, and Pritchard and White gave Boston the lead thanks to back-to-back threes.

While the 76ers trailed for the first time all night, that deficit didn’t last long as off the bench, Quentin Grimes slammed a dunk to end the Celtics 10-0 run, and Edgecombe added onto the lead thanks to another three. Both teams’ stars began to take over, with Brown scoring the Celtics’ next five points and Embiid scoring the next six for the 76ers.

The three-pointers continued to fall for both squads, with Sam Hauser and George drilling triples, but Embiid slowed down the game, doing what he does best, going to the line for free throws to keep the 76ers ahead. Queta slammed a dunk, and White drilled a three to cut it back to a one-possession game with the final seconds running out of the first half, but Maxey knocked down a 17-footer to take a 55-50 lead for Philadelphia into the half.

Out of the break, the 76ers came out hot with Edgecombe and Maxey both drilling threes, and Maxey scored once again with a fade-away bucket. Once again, Brown and Embiid were the main sources of offense for their team, with both scoring eight of their respective teams’ next 11 points, while the other three came from triples from Pritchard and Maxey.

With Embiid out of the game, the 76ers’ three-point success continued, and for the Celtics, the complete opposite. George drilled another three, and Edgecombe added two more.

Brown seemed like the only player who could knock down a shot as he scored five straight points to cut the 76ers’ lead heading into the fourth quarter, with Philadelphia up 88-75. In the third quarter, the Celtics shot 3-for-15 from three.

However, with 12 minutes to play, the Celtics weren’t dead yet and showed that with a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter. Hauser kicked things off with a three, and White, Queta, and Brown all hit layups following two free throws from Oubre to make it a six-point game.

The Celtics’ attack didn’t stop there as Brown and Queta each made and-one buckets to cut it to a one-point game, but Embiid drilled a long three to keep it a four-point game. Following misses from both teams, White pulled up for a long three and drilled it to make it 95-94 with five minutes to play.

Following an unsuccessful challenge from Boston on a clear foul, Maxey drilled a pair of free throws. Brown and Embiid traded two points each, and Queta hit a pair of free throws to cut this back down to a one-point game.

With two minutes to go, Maxey began to take over, running towards the lane for a tough layup, and after a clutch stop on the defensive end, Maxey got the ball back and drove through the lane for another layup to go up five with 1:15 to play.

Both teams missed their next jumpers, and with the final 30 seconds ticking down, both Brown and White missed deep threes to cut the 76ers’ lead, forcing them to foul. Maxey drilled both free throws to go up seven with 20 seconds left, and Hauser missed the following three, essentially sealing the game.

Maxey drilled two more free throws, and following misses from Boston, Philadelphia held on to defeat Boston 110-103, securing the 3-1 series comeback and winning the first round series. It’s the first time since 1982 that the 76ers have defeated the Celtics in a playoff series and the 14th time in NBA history that a team has come back from a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series.

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: