Game ID: 42500116
Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers
Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHI 20 38 24 24 106BOS 23 26 14 30 93
BOS @ PHI ScoutingBOS @ 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.
PHI availability going into 4/21 · 1 day's restOUT Embiid missed 4 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)
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
BOS availability going into 4/21 · 1 day's restBACK Tatum back 4/19 after 2, 32 min since (96% of 34)
BACK Garza back 4/10 after 3, 23 min since (147% 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 4/24 · 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)
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 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Maxey at 26 and George at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 102, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Philadelphia minus-8 and the defense, Boston allowing 102 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it Boston 111, Philadelphia 108, Philadelphia keeping it close.
4/21 @ BOS 111-97 — PHI notes
PHI won 111-97. PHI shot 48% (43 of 90) to BOS's 39%, 19 of 39 from three, and got to the line 11 times to BOS's 18. Edgecombe led with 30 (12 of 20, 6 of 10 from three); Maxey added 29, George 19. The hinge was Q2, 37-26: PHI came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 16. Edgecombe was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
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 — 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.
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.
4/21 vs PHI 97-111 — BOS notes
BOS lost 97-111. BOS shot 39% (35 of 89) to PHI's 48%, 13 of 50 from three, and went to the line 18 times to PHI's 11 — 14 points from the stripe to their 6. Brown led with 36 (11 of 24, 5 of 12 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Tatum added 19. Q1 was theirs, 28-25, but the other 3 periods went 86-69 against them. They led by as many as 13. Pritchard's -15 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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 — 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.
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
DB D. Banton
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
NV N. Vučević
PP P. Pritchard
RH R. Harper Jr.
SH S. Hauser
VU Vucevic
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
Tyrese Maxey sparks the 76ers’ Game 6 surge with 30 points, forcing a Game 7 vs the Celtics
PHILADELPHIA -- — Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points, a resurgent Paul George had 23 points and a Philadelphia 76ers’ team that lost by 32 points twice in this first-round playoff series played their most complete game of the season and forced Game 7 with a 106-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
The decisive game is Saturday in Boston.
“We're still alive,” George said.
The only team in NBA history to win a playoff series after losing two games by 30-plus points was the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 against the St. Louis Hawks.
“Just applaud the guys for not quitting," George said. “In this moment, we just stayed together. We stayed confident. We stayed poised. We've given ourselves a chance here, being down 3-1, with an unbelievable opportunity to go play a Game 7 in Boston.”
Uplifted by Joel Embiid’s early return from an appendectomy , the Sixers rebounded from two blowout losses to win Game 5 in Boston and were buoyed by a throwback effort from George to never trail in Game 6. Embiid did his part in Game 6 with 19 points.
The play of the game — and maybe the series — came in the third when Kelly Oubre Jr . blocked Jaylen Brown , Maxey scooped the loose ball and fed to George on the break who then dazzled with a behind-the-back pass to VJ Edgecombe who finished with a thunderous dunk for a 69-54 lead.
A night after the Flyers won in overtime to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, Sixers fans cut loose after that slam.
The 76ers will only go as far as Embiid can take them on his injury-prone 7-foot frame and Maxey is a bona fide All-Star. Edgecombe's youthful exuberance made him a fan favorite in Philly and an NBA Rookie of the Year finalist.
Lost in the shuffle at times is the 35-year-old George — in large part this season because of a 25-game suspension for flunking a drug test — who has deferred to the other three Sixers when needed yet can still flash that All-Star form. George hit a team-high five 3s that all stretched the lead and the offense ran through him when Embiid — still recovering from his early April surgery — was on the bench.
George signed with the Sixers in the summer of 2024 on a four-year, $212 million free-agent contract and was expected to form a 1-2 championship punch with Embiid. George was instead derailed by injuries, personal issues and the suspension that had him forgotten at times by fans and in the offense.
“He’s been a great voice, a great leader for all of us,” Maxey said.
George keyed Philadelphia's game of the season, a stunner given how the Celtics toyed with them in their three wins this series.
“This is just one game, that's one story,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “It's nice to win a couple in a row. It's nice to win and play the way we did tonight. But it really does not matter. Each game is it's own game.”
Brown was hampered by three fouls in the first half and finished with 18 points. Jayson Tatum , who missed most of the season with a ruptured Achilles, had 17 points for the Celtics. He briefly left in the third quarter for unspecified treatment to an apparent calf injury.
The Celtics went more than 4 minutes without a point to close the third and the Sixers stormed into the final quarter with an 82-63 lead.
“This is part of the playoffs,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Have an opportunity for Game 7 at home. It's part of our journey. We didn't play well tonight, and we move on to the next game.”