We can't let the same stuff happen over and over again
In the long arc of playoff basketball, few moments carry the weight of a team refusing to accept the story already written for them. On a Saturday night in Boston, the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers — led by a limping Joel Embiid and a relentless Tyrese Maxey — defeated the Celtics 109-100 in Game Seven, completing only the 14th comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in NBA history and the first in franchise history. It was a victory shaped as much by memory as by performance: Embiid had lost to Boston three times before, and this time, he and his team simply decided otherwise.
- The Celtics lost their star before the game even began — Jayson Tatum, still recovering from a ruptured Achilles, was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off, leaving Boston to fight a Game Seven without its anchor.
- Philadelphia jumped to a 15-point first-quarter lead, but Boston refused to fold, clawing back to within one point multiple times in the fourth quarter as TD Garden shook with desperation.
- When the game teetered on its edge, Tyrese Maxey answered — scoring eight consecutive points to push the lead to 107-98 and silence the Celtics' comeback bid for good.
- Embiid, who had undergone emergency appendectomy surgery weeks earlier and played through a swollen knee, finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds — delivering the defining performance of his playoff career against the team that had eliminated him three times before.
- The Celtics' 3-of-49 shooting from three-point range told the story of a cold, desperate night, and their season — built on the promise of a second seed — ended as a cautionary tale about squandered leads.
- Philadelphia now advances to face the New York Knicks, carrying the momentum of the most improbable comeback in their postseason history.
Joel Embiid played the final minutes of Game Seven on a throbbing knee, but he stayed on the court. With 34 points and 12 rebounds, he delivered what he had promised — a victory over the Boston Celtics when it mattered most. The 76ers' 109-100 win ended Boston's season and completed a comeback from 3-1 down, the first in franchise history and only the 14th of its kind in NBA history.
Tyrese Maxey was the one who closed it. With Boston cutting a 13-point deficit to one multiple times in the fourth quarter, Maxey scored eight straight points to push the lead to 109-98 and extinguish the Celtics' final surge. He finished with 30 points, 10 of them in that frantic final frame. The seventh-seeded Sixers, underdogs at every turn, were heading to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the New York Knicks.
The victory carried personal weight for Embiid. Boston had eliminated him from the playoffs in 2018, 2020, and 2023. After Game Five, facing elimination, he and Maxey made a quiet decision in the locker room: this pattern ends now. Over the next two games, they made sure it did.
Boston played Game Seven without Jayson Tatum, ruled out with a sore knee less than two hours before tip-off. Jaylen Brown carried 34 points and nine rebounds, and Derrick White added 26, but the Celtics shot just 13-of-49 from three — a cold night that left them chasing from the opening minutes. They clawed back repeatedly, the Garden crowd roaring with each possession, but the final push never came.
Embiid had survived emergency appendectomy surgery less than a month earlier. His knee was swollen. None of it stopped him. For Philadelphia, the improbable run goes on. For Boston, a season built on second-seed promise ended as the latest cautionary tale about leads that slip away.
Joel Embiid limped through the final minutes of Game Seven, his knee throbbing from a late collision, but he stayed on the court. The Philadelphia 76ers needed him there. With 34 points and 12 rebounds, Embiid had done what he said he would do: finally beat the Boston Celtics when it mattered most. The 109-100 victory on Saturday night—Sunday morning in Manila—ended the second-seeded Celtics' season and completed the most improbable arc of the 76ers' postseason run: a comeback from 3-1 down, the first in franchise history.
Tyrese Maxey was the closer. In a fourth quarter that tightened into a knife's edge, with Boston clawing back from 13 points down and cutting the deficit to one multiple times, Maxey scored eight straight points to push the lead to 107-98. He finished with 30 points, 10 of them in that frantic final quarter when the game hung in the balance. The seventh-seeded Sixers, the underdogs in every sense, had just become only the 14th team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1. They were heading to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the New York Knicks.
Boston's loss carried particular weight because of what came before. The Celtics had eliminated Embiid from the playoffs three times—in 2018, 2020, and 2023. He had grown tired of it. After Game Five, when the Sixers faced elimination, Embiid and Maxey had a conversation in the locker room. The message was simple: this pattern ends now. They meant it. Over the next two games, they made sure the Celtics couldn't escape.
The Celtics came into Game Seven without their star. Jayson Tatum, sidelined by a sore left knee, was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off. He had exited late in the third quarter of Thursday's blowout loss and could only watch from the bench as his team's season ended. Tatum had already overcome so much—a ruptured right Achilles tendon in last year's playoffs, a missed first 62 games of this regular season—but his body wouldn't cooperate when Boston needed him most.
Jaylen Brown carried the load for Boston, scoring 34 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Derrick White added 26. But the Celtics' shooting betrayed them: they made just 13 of 49 three-point attempts, a cold night that left them chasing the game from the opening minutes. The 76ers had jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter and never fully relinquished control, even as Boston mounted its desperate fourth-quarter surge. The Celtics clawed to within one point multiple times, the crowd at TD Garden roaring with each possession, but they couldn't find the final push.
Embiid, speaking after the game, reduced the victory to its essence: playing hard, staying together, closing it out. He had undergone emergency appendectomy surgery less than a month earlier. His knee was now swollen. Yet he had delivered 34 points and 12 rebounds when the franchise needed them most. The 76ers had led by five at halftime and 13 going into the fourth. They held on.
For Boston, the loss ended a season that had promised much. As the second seed, they were supposed to be Eastern Conference contenders. Instead, they became the latest cautionary tale about 3-1 leads in the playoffs. For Philadelphia, the improbable run continued. They would face the Knicks next, carrying the momentum of the most dramatic comeback in their playoff history.
Notable Quotes
We had a talk after game five and just said, 'Hey, man, we can't let the same stuff happen over and over and over again. At some point we've got to put a stop to it.' And we did.— Tyrese Maxey to NBC
Just playing hard. We started off well and then in the second quarter we kind of relaxed a little. Same thing with the start of the fourth. But we stuck together, closed it out.— Joel Embiid
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How does a team come back from 3-1 down? That's supposed to be over.
You need two things: someone who refuses to accept the outcome, and someone who can execute when the pressure is highest. Embiid had the first part—he'd lost to Boston three times before. Maxey had the second. In Game Seven, when Boston cut it to one point multiple times, Maxey just scored eight straight. That's not luck.
Tatum being out—did that change the math?
It changed it, yes. But Boston still had Brown scoring 34 and White with 26. The real problem was the three-point shooting. Thirteen of 49. When you're chasing and your perimeter shots aren't falling, you're done.
Embiid played hurt, right? The knee at the end?
He did. He'd had appendix surgery four weeks earlier. His knee got hit late. But he stayed in the game because the 76ers needed him there. That's the difference between a team that quits and one that doesn't.
What does this mean for the Knicks series?
Philadelphia has momentum now. They've proven they can win when everything is against them. The Knicks are good, but the 76ers believe they can beat anyone. That's dangerous.
Is this the kind of thing that changes a franchise?
It could be. Embiid finally got past Boston. That's been eating at him for years. Now he knows he can do it.