Game ID: 42500117
Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics
Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 19 31 25 25 100PHI 32 23 33 21 109
BOS vs PHI ScoutingBOS vs PHI Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 18 min since (113% of 16)
BACK González back 4/10 after 2, 13 min since (94% of 14)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT González missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 3 min (20% of 14)
BACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 38 min since (113% of 34)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 15 min since (96% of 16)
BOS availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 37 min since (111% of 34)
BACK González back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (20% of 14)
BOS availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 38 min since (113% of 34)
BACK González back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 14)
BOS availability going into 5/02 · 1 day's restBACK González back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 14)
PHI availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Embiid missed 5 since 4/09, out tonight
BACK Watford back 4/12 after 3, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
BACK Terry back 4/12 after 8, 5 min since (51% of 10)
NEW Drummond 18 to 26 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT Embiid missed 6 since 4/09, returns tonight: 34 min (107% of 32)
OUT Watford missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 5 min (31% of 15)
OUT Walker missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 4 min (39% of 11)
OUT Terry missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 4 min (43% of 10)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
NEW Drummond 18 to 25 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 34 min since (107% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/12 after 3, 6 min since (40% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 4/12 after 3, 3 min since (19% of 14)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 4 min since (39% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/12 after 8, 5 min since (48% of 10)
PHI availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 36 min since (114% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (21% of 15)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (27% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (29% of 10)
PHI availability going into 5/02 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 36 min since (112% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (17% of 15)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (27% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (24% of 10)
NEW George 32 to 38 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 5/04 · 1 day's restOUT Walker missed 2 since 4/30, returns tonight: 10 min (93% of 11)
BACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 37 min since (115% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 3 min since (17% of 15)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (24% of 10)
NEW George 32 to 39 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restBACK Embiid back 4/26 after 6, 34 min since (107% of 32)
BACK Watford back 4/26 after 2, 5 min since (35% of 15)
BACK Walker back 4/26 after 2, 6 min since (49% of 11)
BACK Terry back 4/26 after 2, 5 min since (47% of 10)
PHI availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restBACK Walker back 5/04 after 2, 10 min since (93% of 11)
NEW George 32 to 39 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's restBACK Walker back 5/04 after 2, 6 min since (56% of 11)
NEW George 32 to 38 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 43 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and Embiid at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Philadelphia minus-7 and the turnovers, Boston giving it away 13 times a game to Philadelphia's 9. Call it Boston 111, Philadelphia 107, Philadelphia keeping it close.
4/24 @ PHI 108-100 — BOS notes
BOS won 108-100. BOS shot 44% (36 of 81) to PHI's 44%, 20 of 47 from three. BOS turned it over 17 times to PHI's 11. Tatum led with 25 (9 of 17, 5 of 9 from three); Brown added 25, Pritchard 15. The hinge was Q1, 29-24: from level to 5 ahead. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/26 @ PHI 128-96 — BOS notes
BOS won 128-96. BOS shot 48% (42 of 87) to PHI's 41%, 24 of 53 from three. The glass went 51-30 for them. Pritchard led with 32 (12 of 21, 6 of 12 from three); Tatum added 30, Brown 20. The hinge was Q1, 34-18: from level to 16 ahead, and the lead reached 32. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/28 vs PHI 97-113 — BOS notes
BOS lost 97-113. BOS took 11 more shots (89 to 78), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to PHI's 50%, 11 of 39 from three. Tatum led with 24 (8 of 19, 4 of 12 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Brown added 22, Pritchard 12. Q2 was theirs, 34-29, but the other 3 periods went 84-63 against them. They led by as many as 13. Hauser's -21 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/30 @ PHI 93-106 — BOS notes
BOS lost 93-106. BOS shot 42% (36 of 86) to PHI's 44%, 12 of 41 from three. Brown led with 18 (7 of 17, 2 of 6 from three, 2 of 6 at the line); Tatum added 17, Pritchard 14. Q4 was theirs, 30-24, the deficit cut from 19 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 82-63 against them. White's -25 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/02 vs PHI 100-109 — BOS notes
BOS lost 100-109. BOS took 11 more shots (93 to 82), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to PHI's 48%, 13 of 49 from three, and got to the line 16 times to PHI's 23. Brown led with 33 (12 of 27, 3 of 9 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); White added 26, Queta 17. Q2 was theirs, 31-23, the deficit cut from 13 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 86-69 against them. Brown's -16 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/24 vs BOS 100-108 — PHI notes
PHI lost 100-108. PHI shot 44% (38 of 87) to BOS's 44%, 12 of 35 from three. PHI turned it over 11 times to BOS's 17. Maxey led with 31 (12 of 31, 5 of 13 from three); George added 18, Oubre Jr. 17. Q3 was theirs, 27-25, the deficit cut from 7 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 83-73 against them. Drummond's -17 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/26 vs BOS 96-128 — PHI notes
PHI lost 96-128. PHI shot 41% (33 of 80) to BOS's 48%, 9 of 30 from three. The glass went 30-51 against them. Embiid led with 26 (9 of 21, 1 of 6 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Maxey added 22, George 16. Q2 was theirs, 20-22, but the other 3 periods went 106-76 against them. Oubre Jr.'s -31 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/28 @ BOS 113-97 — PHI notes
PHI won 113-97. PHI shot 50% (39 of 78) to BOS's 40%, 15 of 42 from three. Embiid led with 33 (12 of 23, 0 of 5 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); Maxey added 25, Grimes 18. The hinge was Q4, 28-11: PHI came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 16. PHI trailed 50-57 at the half and won the second half 63-40. George was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/30 vs BOS 106-93 — PHI notes
PHI won 106-93. PHI shot 44% (39 of 89) to BOS's 42%, 11 of 33 from three. Maxey led with 30 (11 of 22, 3 of 5 from three); George added 23, Embiid 19. The hinge was Q2, 38-26: PHI came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 9, and the lead reached 23. Oubre Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
5/02 @ BOS 109-100 — PHI notes
PHI won 109-100. PHI shot 48% (39 of 82) to BOS's 40%, 11 of 28 from three, and went to the line 23 times to BOS's 16 — 20 points from the stripe to their 13. Embiid led with 34 (12 of 26, 1 of 4 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Maxey added 30, Edgecombe 23. The hinge was Q1, 32-19: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Edgecombe was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
5/04 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 100, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Anunoby at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. 3 days' rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Embiid at 28 and Maxey at 28 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Philadelphia minus-6 and the line, where New York takes 28 free throws a game to Philadelphia's 21. Call it New York 115, Philadelphia 106.
5/06 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 98, shooting 54 percent and 41 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Embiid at 25 and Maxey at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Philadelphia minus-6 and the defense, New York allowing 98 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it New York 118, Philadelphia 106, New York by 12.
5/08 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Embiid at 25 and Maxey at 25 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 97, shooting 56 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Philadelphia minus-2 and the defense, New York allowing 97 a night to Philadelphia's 107. Call it New York 115, Philadelphia 108.
5/10 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 109, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Maxey at 23 and Embiid at 21 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 96, shooting 56 percent and 39 from three, 28 free throws a game; Brunson at 30 and Anunoby at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-11 a night and Philadelphia minus-5 and the defense, New York allowing 96 a night to Philadelphia's 109. Call it New York 114, Philadelphia 107.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHIAD A. Drummond
JE J. Edwards
JE J. Embiid
KO K. Oubre Jr.
PG P. George
QG Q. Grimes
TM T. Maxey
VE V. Edgecombe
BOSBS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
RH R. Harper Jr.
SH S. Hauser
PHI/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Joel Embiid leads 76ers to 109-100 Game 7 win over Celtics to complete comeback from 3-1 deficit
BOSTON -- — Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the Jayson Tatum -less Boston Celtics 109-100 on Saturday night to complete the NBA’s 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
Embiid finished with 34 points , 12 rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey added 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. VJ Edgecombe scored 23 points and Paul George had 13.
Philadelphia, the No. 7 seed, will visit No. 3 New York on Monday night in Game 1 of the second round.
The Sixers franchise, including its time as Syracuse Nationals, improved to 2-10 in road Game 7s. Its only other win came in 1982 at the Boston Garden. It's a small measure of revenge after Boston blew out Philadelphia in Game 7 in the second round of the 2023 playoffs.
“We had a chance to beat them three years ago, didn’t do it. We came in and got it done," Maxey said.
Embiid, who debuted in Game 4 after recovering from appendectomy surgery, is the first player in NBA history to score 100 points in a playoff series despite missing the first three games. He and Maxey also became the third duo in league history to each have 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 7.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 33 points and nine rebounds. Derrick White had 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Neemias Queta finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Celtics struggled from the 3-point line for the third straight game, finishing 13 of 49.
Brown said Embiid changed tenor of the series.
“He put a lot of pressure on us,” Brown said. “We didn't really have the answers for him.”
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla shrugged off any notion that his team was too dependent on 3s in the series.
“I love the looks that we got. I love the process that we had.. But I hate the result," Mazzulla said.
The second-seeded Celtics made their earliest exit from the playoffs since the 2020-21 season. Boston fell to 32-1 when leading a series 3-1.
The Celtics played without Tatum after he was ruled out about 90 minutes before tipoff with left knee stiffness. Brown said he didn’t find out until about 45 minutes before the game.
“Nobody told me anything. But my mindset was the same,” Brown said.
Philadelphia led for all but 31 seconds in the game, increasing a five-point halftime edge to 18 points in the third quarter. It was down to 13 at the start of the fourth and Boston opened the period on a 16-4 run to pull within 92-91.
The 76ers were leading 101-98 when Maxey got free for a layup with 1:15 remaining. Boston missed its next four shots and Philadelphia pushed it to 105-98 on a pair of free throws by Maxey.
Mazzulla said Tatum came to the team facility Saturday with knee discomfort, and the medical team decided for him not to play. Tatum briefly left Game 6 in the third quarter for unspecified treatment to his left calf. Mazzulla downplayed the significance, saying initially Tatum would play in Game 7.
With Tatum out, Mazzulla made radical changes to the starting lineup, opting to start Baylor Scheierman , Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr . alongside Brown and White.
It was the first time that group started together this season and the Celtics quickly fell into a 9-0 hole. Philadelphia led by 15 in the first quarter and 32-19 when it ended.
Unlike in their losses in Games 5 and 6, the Celtics weren’t as quick to fire up 3s, instead opting to attack the interior of Philadelphia’s defense to get easier looks.
Boston started the second on an 18-4 run to take its first lead of the night, 37-36, on a 3-pointer by Payton Pritchard . The 76ers led 55-50 at halftime.