76ers, Embiid vanquish Celtics to complete 3-1 comeback
BOSTON -- It took 44 years, but the Philadelphia 76ers have finally beaten the Boston Celtics in a playoff series.
Behind arguably the best playoff performance of Joel Embiid's career, the 76ers claimed a heart-stopping 109-100 victory in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Philadelphia also became the 14th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.
Before Saturday's win, the 76ers had gone an NBA-record 0-18 when trailing 3-1 in a series. Boston was 32-0 when holding a 3-1 series lead.
Philadelphia beat Boston in the playoffs for the first time since 1982, snapping a streak of six consecutive series losses -- the last three of which included Embiid.
But behind Embiid's 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Tyrese Maxey's30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists -- making them the first teammates in NBA history to each have at least 30-10-5 in a Game 7 -- the 76ers finally broke through against their rivals.
"We had a chance to beat them three years ago, didn't do it. We came in and got it done," Maxey said.
Philadelphia will travel to New York and play the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, which begin Monday night.
The latest installment of one of the league's most historic rivalries -- the two teams have played each other in 23 series, more than any other matchup in NBA playoff history -- included Jayson Tatumbeing ruled out because of left knee stiffness.
"He just came in today with knee discomfort," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said during his pregame media availability a few minutes after Tatum was ruled out. "And we decided, the medical staff and myself, that he would not play."
The Celtics' starting lineup consisted of Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Jaylen Brown, Ron Harper Jr. and Luka Garza, a grouping that had never played together before starting the biggest game of Boston's season.
Philadelphia raced out to an early lead and quickly forced Mazzulla to start making changes. Other than a brief stretch in the second quarter, the 76ers appeared to be in control, but then the Celtics would pull back within striking distance again.
Philadelphia went on a 14-3 run to take an 18-point lead in the third quarter, but Boston answered at the start of the fourth quarter, cutting the 76ers' lead to one on several occasions -- including when Brown scored to pull the Celtics within 97-96 with 5:02 remaining in the game.
But Boston missed nine consecutive shots, including five that would've either tied or given the Celtics the lead, before Maxey scored eight straight points inside the final two minutes to seal the win.br/]
