What is the story about?
Holy shit, guys, they did it! They actually did it!
The Sixers pulled off the impossible, beating a Jayson Tatum-less Celtics 109-100 in Game 7 to come back down from a 3-1 deficit to win the series.
Joel Embiid was able to break down Boston’s defense for much of the night again. He led all scorers with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists shooting 12-of-26 from the floor. Tyrese Maxey got them over the finish line with 30 points shooting 11-of-18 from the floor along with seven assists.
Paul George
overcame his illness to have 13 shooting 5-of-10 from the floor. VJ Edgecombe had 23 shooting 8-of-17 from the floor with six boards and four assists in his first career Game 7. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics/all scorers with x.
Tatum was the only player unable to suit for this one, he was ruled out earlier in the day with knee stiffness.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- It was just about an ideal start, with Embiid again knocking down a midrange to start the game. Edgecombe ran out off a rebound to get a layup before the Celtics’ defense was able to fully get back. George looked good despite the illness, beating his defender off the dribble and finishing the drive with a dunk. They opened the game on a 9-0 run while the Celtics missed six of their first seven shots of the game.
- The Sixers were still plenty sloppy early on with three quick turnovers, but scoring five points off the first three Boston turnovers they forced helped. Their passing sharpened up in the half court as the quarter progressed, hitting Kelly Oubre Jr. cutting to the dunker twice. Embiid drew two early fouls on the new starting center Luka Garza, but Maxey had picked up two as well including a pretty bogus moving screen.
- Once again in this series the Sixers’ offense was operating well despite the open threes they weren’t making. They shot 2-of-7 from deep in the quarter. Their passing out of Boston’s doubles remained precise as Embiid and Maxey combined for 11 assists in the quarter. A turnover and a poor post-up from George gave the Celtics a chance to end the quarter well, but Embiid’s jumper while trying to bait a foul still fell and they smothered Payton Pritchard at the buzzer to hold a 13-point lead after one.
Second Quarter
- The non-Embiid minutes were a disaster with the Sixers picking up three fouls in three possessions. After finally hitting some shots in Game 6, Derrick White was much more comfortable offensively — he had 19 in the first half. Nick Nurse called a timeout as Neemias Queta blew by Andre Drummond for a dunk. George posted up for a midrange and Embiid returned shortly coming out of it but the Celtics continued to pour on baskets to make it a 16-2 run to start the quarter and take their first lead of the game.
- The Sixers did have three open jumpers go halfway down and out, but they weren’t getting into the paint at the same rate to get the easy baskets they had to start the game. Quentin Grimes finally got that going again, using a screen to get free on the baseline. Embiid did something similar, drawing a foul in the process after Edgecombe and Brown traded threes.
- The super small lineup Boston went with mucked the game up a bit. They grabbed two quick offensive rebounds after only grabbing two in the first 20 minutes of the game. Embiid still was able to draw three fouls on Hugo Gonzalez as well as Queta, but he missed two free throws during that stretch. His midrange jumper had cooled off as well, but he was able to deny Brown of a monster poster attempt. After a quiet quarter Maxey hit a step-back two to keep the Sixers clinging to a five-point lead.
Third Quarter
- Queta started the second half instead of Garza and whirled his way around Embiid for a layup. On the next possession he got called for a loose ball foul and had to sit. Edgcombe and Maxey hit threes to help the Sixers respond with an 8-0 run. Boston responded well as Brown got a three-point play and Pritchard hit one from behind the arc.
- It was a struggle for this unit to guard the Sixers, but the small lineup for the Celtics really found something offensively and that thing was offensive rebounds. Their continuous crashing bought them second chance points as Embiid started to look gassed. He was too careless with the ball and had two rebounds poked away from him — he was lucky one went out of bounds to keep possession.
- Embiid did have enough energy to continue trash talking with Brown, and the deep seals he was getting on the block created easy offense again. During a timeout his side tightened up on him though and he had to leave the game and go to the locker room.
- Maxey orchestrated a beautiful possession to get himself a layup on the first Embiid-less possession of the third, and PG responded to a tough Sam Hauser three with one of his own. They each got another basket before Edgecombe hit a three to give the Sixers their largest lead of the night. The Celtics had another response as Hauser got a putback and Brown scored five tough points. Grimes’ second unsuccessful poster attempt of the night at least drew him a foul this time. He split the pair and White got down the floor for layup to keep the Celtics within 13.
Fourth Quarter
- Embiid was back out there to start out there, but his start to the quarter wasn’t great. He was unable to draw a foul on Queta on his first shot and got blocked by White on his second. Queta was able to grab a putback by him. A cutting layup for Brown forced a timeout from Nurse.
- The midrange jumper Embiid should have helped settle things but the Celtics kept the momentum with some help from the zebras. Brown steamrolled through George, but a block was called. Not only that, but Embiid got a dead-ball technical for blocking Brown’s shot. Two and-1s for Boston cut the lead to one as Queta got pushed into Embiid’s knee. Brown had some knee troubles as well after that dive.
- Embiid knocked down a three, but the Sixers had really begun to settle for jump shots and they hadn’t gotten anymore to fall as White responded with a three. Maxey was able to draw Queta’s fifth foul while Boston was able to rescind their initial challenge of the play.
- Maxey smoking a relatively open layup was brutal, as was Nurse burning his last challenge of the game trying to get the offensive inference call on the play overturned. The Sixers offense continued to sputter as they missed 11 of their first 13 field goals of the quarter.
- Embiid helped secure a big rebound with the Sixers up three, but really came up hobbling when Maxey accidentally fell into his left leg. Maxey sped his way to another layup to make it five. The Sixers got another stop but Maxey’s stepback was no good. Boston got two cracks at their next time down the floor but came up empty. They fouled Maxey to make it a seven-point game. Hauser missing a three the next time put a bow on what Sixers fans have been waiting for for so long. It was just a first round series, but they really did it.
