Ad Disclosure
Finally – 20 Immediate Observations from Sixers 109, Celtics 100
Published:
They finally did it. The Sixers beat the Celtics in the playoffs. First time since 1982 and obviously the first time in the Joel Embiid era.
All it took was Jayson Tatum wearing street clothes and Boston shooting 27% from three, but despite the Sixers almost blowing a 13-point 4th quarter lead, and daring the Celtics to win the game, they pulled themselves together in a way that we did not see during Game 6 or Game 7 back in 2023. They bit down, didn’t get flustered, and made some big plays to answer Boston runs, capped off by Tyrese Maxey saying “screw it, I’m getting to the basket” on a pair of sequences that more or less won them the game.
He had a brilliant 30, 11, and 7 while Embiid led the way with 34, 12, and 6. VJ Edgecombe knocked down five of his 11 threes and Paul George chipped in 13 points on 5-10 field goal shooting.
The Sixers kept things level, even though it felt like a classic meltdown might be coming.
Funny enough, this triumph gets them into… the second round. They haven’t advanced beyond the second round since 2001, so there’s still a long way to go, but nobody had them getting past this Boston team as a #7 seed, right? So why not now? They get another shot at the Knicks and if Joel Embiid can stay upright, then you never know what may happen.
Takeaways:
1) Tatum being out was, uh, obviously a huge deal considering he scored 51 points in the last Game 7 against the Sixers. Once that news hit the timeline, you had the thought that if they couldn’t get it done this time, it would never happen.
2) Anybody got a beat on what Joe Mazzulla was doing with his starting lineup? Luka Garza? Ron Harper Jr.? The Sixers blitzed ’em out of the gates and took a 13-6 lead into the break with Garza picking up two fouls.
3) Noah Eagle’s mic was muffled over the first couple of minutes. It sounded like he had gone to the dentist and the novacaine hadn’t yet worn off. They got it fixed about halfway through the opening quarter.
4) Kelly Oubre Jr. had some really nice baseline cutting moments in this series. Four early points for him on Saturday night moving off the ball with Embiid in possession.
5) The second foul on Tyrese Maxey felt like bullshit in real time, but he barely got Jaylen Brown on the elbow. Nick Nurse left him in the game and it was the right decision as Maxey made to halftime unscathed.
6) 32-19 Sixers after the first quarter. They looked like the 1992 Dream Team out there. Boston shot 2-12 from three and I agree with Reggie Miller when he said he didn’t like their shot selection. It’s one thing to drive, kick, and collapse and stress the defense, but they were hoisting up junk without working for the open looks they got in Games 1, 3, and 4.
7) Things went to shit when Embiid came out of the game the first time. Like a blast from the past, a 16-2 run for Boston to take the lead. At the same time, the Flyers gave up an early goal to the Canes and it was like someone had dumped the coldest water on your head.
8) That being said, the Sixers responded well. Embiid put the team on his back and forced 3 fouls on both Neemias Queta and Hugo Gonzalez. He stuffed Brown on a huge defensive play at the rim and did his damage inside and at the free throw line. They did well to brush off the Celtics run and take a five point lead into halftime.
9) Queta was playing well before his fourth foul. 10 points, 3 rebounds. Then he just decided to grab Embiid’s arm for some reason.
10) Mixed results playing against the Celtics’ small lineup halfway through the third. It took them a couple of possessions to just force the ball to Embiid, which resulted first in a kick out and three for Maxey, then some bully ball over Brown. They had that mismatch every time down the floor before Mazzulla brought Gonzalez back into the game.
11) Nik Vucevic didn’t play, but he did appear to eat a booger:
12) At some point in the third quarter I said to myself, “these dudes have nothing for Embiid, and Mazzulla is throwing darts at a board while blindfolded.” The game was begging to be put away and the Sixers went on a big run with threes from VJ Edgecombe and Playoff Paul George. Boston threw up brick after brick after brick and next thing you know it was a 16-point game with two minutes left in the quarter.
13) They went into the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead. Of course, Boston needed two and a half minutes to cut the lead to 6, at which point we began thinking “oh no… they’re gonna fall apart again.” They were struggling against the Celtics’ zone and let them back into the game, which got the crowd going and made things tricky.
14) The tech on Embiid? The contact was after the whistle, and maybe he threw the left arm a bit. Dunno. You could argue it was a live “and 1” situation and he was trying to prevent that. Either way, White got away with a charge on Oubre on the following sequence and that should have been called. Maybe the Brown shove on Embiid on the following possession was a make up call. Only the refs know.
15) Unsuccessful challenge from Nick Nurse on the VJ Edgecombe basket interference. Derrick White did indeed go inside the cylinder and touch the net before Edgecombe got the ball, but they ruled that the contact was “inadvertent,” according to Eagle.
16) Hated that Embiid corner three with three minutes left in the game. Can’t settle for that shot.
17) But Maxey going directly at Queta was awesome. High IQ stuff. Drive at the big guy on 5 fouls. Get downhill. Take THE DAMN GAME OVER.
18) Boston missed 7 shots in a row after the Queta free throws cut the lead to 1. Kind of an anticlimactic ending honestly, it was back and forth, back and forth, then they began hoisting up bricks and the Sixers ran away with it.
19) Celtics: 13-49 from three. Story of the series I think was their deep shooting how the Sixers did better defending it in Games 5, 6, and 7.
20) First time in franchise history the Sixers have come back from 3-1 down to win a series. What a display of resilience and mettle.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com