Embiid, Maxey shine as 76ers eliminate Celtics in NBA playoffs

TL;DR

Joel Embiid scored 34 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-100 victory over the Boston Celtics, eliminating them from the NBA playoffs. This marks the first time the 76ers have come back from a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series.

Key points

Joel Embiid scored 34 points and 12 rebounds
Tyrese Maxey added 30 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter
76ers eliminated the Celtics from the NBA playoffs
This is the first time the 76ers came back from a 3-1 series deficit
Jayson Tatum was ruled out before the game due to injury

Philadelphia 76ersBoston Celtics

Philadelphia's Joel Embiid collides with Luka Garza of the Boston Celtics in the 76ers' series-clinching victory in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs (Maddie Meyer) (Maddie Meyer/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP) Joel Embiid scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to propel the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-100 victory over Boston that eliminated the Celtics from the NBA playoffs on Saturday. Tyrese Maxey scored 10 of his 30 points in a frantic fourth quarter as the seventh-seeded Sixers thwarted the second-seeded Celtics' comeback bid, completing their own comeback from 3-1 down in the series to book an Eastern Conference semi-final showdown with the New York Knicks. The series was the 23rd playoff clash between the two teams and Boston had won the last six, knocking Embiid out of the playoffs in 2018, 2020 and 2023. Embiid had said he was tired of losing to the Celtics, and he and Maxey made sure it didn't happen again, keying the 76ers' first-ever victory in a series in which they trailed 3-1. It's the 14th time an NBA team has come back from 3-1 down to win a series. "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," Maxey told broadcaster NBC. It wasn't a smooth ride, even with Boston missing star , who was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off with a sore left knee. Tatum had exited late in the third quarter of Thursday's game-six blowout loss to the Sixers, and he could only watch from the bench as the Celtics season ended. Tatum, who ruptured his right Achilles tendon in last year's playoffs, had missed the first 62 games of the regular season but had gone from strength to strength since his season debut in March. scored 34 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Celtics and added 26 points. But Boston connected on just 13 of 49 three-point attempts and were playing catch-up all night after the 76ers pushed their lead to as many as 15 in the first quarter. Boston clawed back and took a one-point lead midway through the second period, but they couldn't maintain momentum. Up by five at halftime, the 76ers pulled away again in the third quarter and led by 13 going into the final frame. Boston made a final push, cutting the deficit to one point multiple times in the fourth quarter to ignite the crowd at TD Garden arena, but they couldn't get over the hump. Maxey scored eight straight points to push Philadelphia's lead to 107-98 and the Sixers closed it out despite a scare for the oft-injured Embiid, who came up limping after a knock to the knee. "Just playing hard," Embiid said of the key to victory. "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," said Embiid, who underwent an emergency appendectomy less than a month ago. "It's about playing hard." bb/sla

Q&A

What was the final score of the 76ers vs Celtics playoff game?

The final score was 109-100 in favor of the Philadelphia 76ers.

How did the 76ers come back from a 3-1 deficit against the Celtics?

The 76ers completed their comeback by winning the series-clinching game, marking the first time in franchise history they overcame a 3-1 playoff deficit.

Who were the standout players in the 76ers vs Celtics game?

Joel Embiid scored 34 points and Tyrese Maxey contributed 30 points, leading the 76ers to victory.

Why was Jayson Tatum unable to play in the playoff game?

Jayson Tatum was ruled out due to a sore left knee, which he injured in the previous game.