Joel Embiid, 76ers knock off second-seeded Celtics in NBA Playoffs | Basketball news

Joel Embiid had 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-100 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference opener.

The 76ers won the last three games of the series on Saturday after losing games one, three and four.

It was the first time in franchise history that Philadelphia had trailed 3-1 in a series, and the 14th time in league history that any team had come back from that point.

“We played (in tough situations) enough, but I think it was good for us to feel it,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after the game.

Philadelphia, the seventh seed, will visit the third-seeded New York Knicks on Monday in Game 1 of their second series.

“What changed this series is Joel ⁠Embiid came back, and it’s a different team,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzella said.

Embiid took the court for the last three games before playing since April 6, because he needed an emergency appendectomy during the team’s road trip through Texas.

Second-seeded Boston trailed 99-98 following Neemias Queta’s free throw, but Maxey scored the next eight points to put Philadelphia up 107-98 with 15 seconds left.

Philadelphia received 23 points from rookie VJ Edgecombe. Paul George added 13. The 76ers bench had three points – all by Quentin Grimes.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum was ruled out of the game due to stiffness in his left knee. He left Game 6 with 4:03 left in the third quarter due to a left leg injury.

Tatum averaged 23.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest over the last six games this season. The six-time All-Star averaged 21.8 points and 10.0 boards in 16 regular-season games after returning March 6 from a torn right Achilles tendon suffered last May in the playoffs.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 33 points and added nine rebounds. Derrick White finished with 26 points, and Queta had 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench. Celtics starters ⁠⁠Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr failed to score. Reserves Payton Pritchard added 13 points and ⁠Sam Hauser contributed 11.

The Celtics shot 26.5 – (13 of 49) from three-point range and 39.8 – (37 of 93) from the field.

“We will always play to make our team stronger,” said Mazzula.

The Sixers made 11 of 28 (39.3 percent) from long range and 47.6 percent (39 of 82) from the field.

“In the last two games and other stages, we defended the ball very well,” said Namwino. “We weren’t giving them a high profile. Maybe, of the whole series, that was the biggest secret.”

Philadelphia scored the game’s first nine points and took a 30-15 lead following Embiid’s jumper with 1:55 left in the opening quarter. The 76ers went up 32-19 after 12 minutes.

Boston scored 18 of ⁠22 points in the second quarter and took its first lead, 37-36, after a Pritchard 3-pointer with 6:52 left in the first half. Philadelphia rallied to take a 55-50 halftime advantage.

An 8-0 run gave Philadelphia a 63-52 lead, and the 76ers were up 84-66 after an Edgecombe 3-pointer with 2:24 left in the third. It was 88-75 after three quarters.

Boston started the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run to cut their deficit to one point, 92-91, with 7:59 to play. The 76ers led 95-94 with 5:52 left.

“(The Celtics) just played in transition for about 12 minutes straight, then we stopped them to get in,” Nurse said.

“Defensively, that was the difference for us in the last three minutes. We had them in the court until maybe the last 90 seconds when they just kept coming and shooting.”

Mazzella said, “I liked the look we had, we liked the way we had it, but I hate the result.”