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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Ryan Phillips & Blake Silverman

NBA Playoff Takeaways: 76ers Win Game 7, Eliminating Celtics After Epic Comeback

Celtics 76ers Game 7 NBA

Philadelphia has done it. Behind incredible performances from Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers rattled off three straight wins to overcome a 3–1 hole and eliminate the Celtics.

Yet another Game 7 between the two rivals lived up to expectations Saturday, even though Boston had to deal without Jayson Tatum, who was ruled out mere hours ahead of tipoff with a left leg injury. The Sixers controlled the majority of the game, but Boston wouldn’t go down easily as the Celtics made a fourth-quarter comeback where they cut a 13-point deficit entering the quarter down to one with 5:02 left in the game.

Maxey took over from there with 10 points in the final six minutes of the game to finish with 30 on the night. Embiid had 34 points on the night for an epic performance in what turned into the first Game 7 win of his career.

Jaylen Brown did all he could for Boston with 33 points, and Derrick White got his groove back with 26 points and five three-pointers after he averaged just 8.7 points over the first six games of the series. Still, though, it wasn’t enough to overcome Tatum’s absence, although Boston dealt without its superstar through the majority of the season. The Celtics won 56 games and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference behind a career year from Brown, which has now amounted to a shocking first-round exit.

The Sixers will ride the momentum to Madison Square Garden Monday, where they will begin an Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Knicks. Before we move to the next round, here are three takeaways from an incredible Game 7 where Embiid and Maxey got the job done:

Tyrese Maxey played like a star

Embiid will garner much of the praise for his 34-point, 12-rebound, six-assist performance while hobbled in Game 7, but in crunch time, he wasn’t the guy who stepped up to finish off the Celtics.

Tyrese Maxey had an incredible game and looked every bit the star of the 76ers despite Embiid’s MVP credentials. The 25-year-old guard finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and only one turnover in 45 minutes. After Boston closed to within one point after a Jaylen Brown jumper made the score 97-96 with 5:02 remaining, the teams traded free throws. That’s when Maxey took over. He drove for a tough layup with 2:00 left to give Philly a 101-98 lead, then did it again on the next possession to increase the advantage to 103-98 with 1:15 to go. Boston never recovered.

TAKING OVER. https://t.co/LmanYlRTHx pic.twitter.com/jZQzg6RDhW
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 3, 2026

Embiid’s health—more on that later—and ability to impact games on both ends is vitally important to the 76ers. But they will only go as far as Maxey can carry them.

The Celtics’ deep shooting abandoned them

Simply put, the Celtics shot themselves out of the playoffs. Boston ranked eighth in the NBA in three-point shooting during the regular season, hitting 36.7% from deep. The Celtics fell apart in Game 7 as they went 13-for-49, which was 26.5%. It was ugly. When they needed a big bucket late, they couldn’t find one.

Derrick White had a great first half and finished with 26 points, but he was 5-for-16 from beyond the arc, while Jaylen Brown was 3-for-9 and missed a few good looks late. Payton Pritchard finished 2-for-7 from deep and had a great look from the corner with 2:19 left that would have given Boston a two-point lead. Maxey hit the first of his two big layups the next time down the floor.

With Jayson Tatum sidelined due to a knee injury, the Celtics needed their role players to step up and hit shots to avoid elimination. That didn’t happen, and their season is over as a result.

Joel Embiid dominated, but what’s the status with his health moving forward?

Embiid had himself a night in Game 7 as the star big man finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Embiid, Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe combined for 87 of Philadelphia’s 109 points in the triumphant victory over Boston. Now, the Sixers move on to face the Knicks with a spot in the Eastern Conference finals on the line.

No matter the dominance on the floor, health is always the question when it comes to Embiid. In Saturday’s Game 7, he briefly went back to the locker room in the third quarter as he appeared to deal with some discomfort on his right side. He quickly returned to the bench with a wrap around his stomach and came back into the game to start the fourth quarter. Just before the end of the game, however, he hobbled toward the bench after Maxey fell into his knee.

Tyrese Maxey falls into Joel Embiid’s knee. 😬 pic.twitter.com/IaXicjinbo
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 3, 2026

The game was over at that point, but the scary-looking collision makes Embiid’s health a big question ahead of the series with New York. He had to give everything he had to pull out Game 7, even as the Celtics were without Tatum, so maybe it was slightly a matter of exhaustion after 39 grueling minutes of play. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious as he walked away on his own and was on his feet after the game, but the status with Embiid’s knee is certainly worth monitoring ahead of Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Relive all the action from out live blog below.