76ers stun Boston in Game 7 to pull off miraculous 1-3 comeback

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Heading into the highly anticipated Game 7 showdown, the Philadelphia 76ers were 0-18 when trailing 1-3 in a playoff series.

On the other hand, the Boston Celtics had never lost a series when leading 3-1, going 32-0.

However, someone’s 0 had to go, and the fortunes were reversed in favor of the underdog Philadelphia squad.

On May 3, 2026, the 76ers did the improbable after shocking the Celtics in Game 7, 109-100, to complete the historic comeback from a 1-3 series deficit during their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

In front of 19,156 loyal Boston fans who flocked to TD Garden, the 76ers never let their home-court disadvantage disrupt their ultimate goal of breaking a long franchise streak of failing to come back from 1-3 down in a series.

To bag the stellar achievement, Philadelphia banked on a fiery first-quarter start to set the tone, leading by double digits and leaving TD Garden as quiet as a grave.

The returning Joel Embiid did his work inside the shaded lane early, backstopped by Paul George’s inspired start and Tyrese Maxey’s court generalship, as Maxey located all his open teammates during half-court sets and on the break.

Without Jayson Tatum, who was ruled out by the Boston medical staff hours before tipoff due to left knee stiffness, the Celtics were hounded by a slow start and needed every minute from Jaylen Brown and Derrick White to produce offensively.

Fortunately, the duo picked up its rhythm in the second quarter, helping the Celtics trim their deficit to just five points entering the second half, 55-50.

Despite an early 1-3-1 zone defense deployed by Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla, Philadelphia’s consistent offense came through as the 76ers neutralized the scheme by using Maxey as a decoy to open up the left elbow for Embiid to dance against Neemias Queta and Luka Garza.

The heavyweight blow-by-blow stretched until the final frame, when the Celtics finally pulled to within a point, 92-91, with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Playing spoiler for the 76ers was Embiid, who answered back with a demoralizing 3-pointer to balloon Philadelphia’s cushion back to four points, 95-91.

Boston gave its all and received huge buckets from Brown and White, but Maxey delivered a performance for the ages in the clutch with back-to-back cold-blooded contested layups and four converted shots from the charity stripe.

After White missed a trey from the top of the key in the final 22 seconds of Game 7, the 76ers began to smell blood and celebrated when the final buzzer sounded.

Maxey cuffed the ball, George screamed in front of the bench, and the exhausted Embiid lay down on the floor, holding a banged-up knee, which he nursed during the entire five-minute stretch of the fourth quarter.

Embiid capped off the do-or-die game with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, while Maxey added 30 markers, 11 boards, and seven dimes.

VJ Edgecombe delivered 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while George dropped 13 points, including a clutch back-down basket in the final three minutes of the game.

With the breathtaking 1-3 series comeback win, the 76ers are now headed to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they will face Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks.