NBA playoffs news: Philadelphia 76ers produce shocking 3-1 comeback to win series v Boston Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers delivered a commanding Game 7 performance in Boston to defeat the Celtics 109-100 and win their Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday, May 3.

The Celtics struggled to contain the dominance of 76ers big man Joel Embiid down low, who had 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the game. 

With additional support from starting guards Tyrese Maxey (30-11-7) and VJ Edgecombe (23-6-4), the 76ers head into the second round with a fully loaded offense to challenge the surging New York Knicks.

Nurse: ‘We handled the pressure’

“It’s really good for us to go through that and respond to it,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said after the win, referring to his team’s in-game responses to the Celtics’ scoring runs. 

“It’s good to have that experience. It’s going to be like that in the playoffs. You’re going to be in a tight game and it’s going to be super loud.

“I was really trying hard to get the guys’ attention and get them to move to places, and you just can’t do it sometimes.

“You just have to play through it. I think we handled it just enough, but I think it’s really good for us to experience it.”

Brown missing his running mate

Jayson Tatum was confirmed to miss the game due to a knee injury just hours before tip-off, meaning Jaylen Brown was left to lead the team.

Brown, to his credit, performed strongly in the crunch game, with 33-9-4.

Pundits suggested prior to the game that the Celtics would struggle even if Tatum had featured, meaning without him, it was always going to be a challenge for Boston.

"He just came in today with knee discomfort," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said pre-game.

"And we decided, the medical staff and myself, that he would not play."

Tactical misjudgements

Mazzulla explained his decision to start a line-up that hadn’t started together all season in Boston’s most significant game.

"Yeah, I mean, I thought there was a couple of things we saw tactically we wanted to test out, you know, obviously give the series a little bit of a different feel and take advantage of the roster that we've had and take advantage of the guys that can impact plays and whatnot," he said of the starting line-up after the game.

"So, I thought it was great by the guys, and we came up short."

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