Embiid Delivers 34 Points, 76ers Complete Historic 3-1 Comeback to Eliminate Celtics

The 76ers arrived in Boston as the team nobody wanted to host, and Joel Embiid made sure they left with the result that matched.

Philadelphia eliminated the defending champion Boston Celtics on Saturday night, winning Game 7 on the road 109-100 to complete a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. It is only the 14th time in NBA history that a team has rallied from that kind of hole, and the first time the Celtics have ever blown a 3-1 lead in franchise history. The series was reshaped two days earlier when Boston announced Tatum would miss Game 7 with left knee stiffness.

Embiid finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, scoring 16 of those in the paint. Tyrese Maxey added 30 points and 11 assists. VJ Edgecombe came off the bench for 23 more.

They Almost Gave It Back

Philadelphia built an 18-point second-half lead and then watched Boston chip away at it, cutting the deficit to one with less than four minutes remaining. TD Garden got loud. The Celtics, playing without Jayson Tatum, refused to fold.

Then Maxey took over.

He scored the two most critical baskets of the stretch run to push the lead back out. Philadelphia’s defense held the rest of the way and sealed a 109-100 final.

Boston’s Three-Point Collapse

The Celtics shot 13-for-49 from three-point range in Game 7, a 26.5% night from a team that hit 36.7% from deep during the regular season. Three Boston starters went scoreless, a franchise first in playoff history.

Jaylen Brown was the lone bright spot, posting 33 points on what became a very short list of Celtics who showed up. Derrick White added 26. Everyone else went quiet at the worst possible time.

Coach Joe Mazzulla defended his team’s approach. “I love the looks that we got. I love the process that we had. But I hate the result,” he said.

Brown was more philosophical. “Great season. Obviously, it didn’t finish the way we would’ve liked. I give credit to Philadelphia. I watched them get better as the series went on.”

Tatum sat again with left knee stiffness. He had left Game 6 in the third quarter and did not return. His health will be the Celtics’ central off-season question after a first-round exit defending their championship.

Embiid’s Take on What’s Different

The 76ers have been a franchise that accumulates talent and fails to advance. Saturday felt like something else.

“Sometimes I’ve been in those positions where I’ve come up short. I’ve always said it, you can’t win alone. You need a team,” Embiid said. “This is different. The fight, it’s just there. We’ve had good teams, but this feels pretty different.”

Maxey said the turnaround started with a direct conversation between him and Embiid after Philadelphia lost Game 5 and seemed headed for elimination.

“We had a talk after Game 5. Just, ‘Hey man, we can’t let the same stuff happen over and over and over and over again. At some point we’ve gotta put a stop to it,’” Maxey said. “And we did.”

What’s Next

Philadelphia meets the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, starting Monday at Madison Square Garden. Game 1 tips at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The Knicks hold home-court advantage.

The Celtics go home. The 76ers, for the first time in a long time, are still playing.