Sixers force Game 7 in Boston on Saturday night

The Sixers beat the Celtics 106-93 on Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena and this series is going to a Game 7 in Boston on Saturday.

Down 3-1 four days ago. Staring at elimination twice. Joel Embiid playing on a body that had surgery three weeks ago. Nobody outside of this city gave the Sixers a prayer of getting to this point.

We’re here.

The Sixers Outplayed Boston in Every Way That Matters

The Celtics love Joe Mazzulla’s quantity-over-quality approach from three and it might finally be biting them in the ass. Boston made one more three than Philly but needed eight extra attempts to do it.

The Sixers shot 11-for-33 from deep at 33 percent while the Celtics went 12-for-41 at 29 percent. Eight wasted possessions from beyond the arc while the Sixers capitalized by making 39 total field goals to Boston’s 36. The math isn’t complicated. The Sixers are getting better shots and making more of them.

SURVIVE: Sixers dominate Celtics, force Game 7 back in Boston >>

The Celtics also shot 56 percent from the free-throw line while the Sixers hit 89 percent. Free throws matter in the playoffs. They’ve always mattered. When the game tightens up in the fourth quarter and every possession counts, missing nearly half your free throws is the kind of thing that loses you a game. Boston has been sloppy at the line for two straight games and the Sixers have punished them for it.

Every Sixers starter scored in double figures. Paul George went 5-for-9 from three. Embiid nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Maxey dropped 30. Edgecombe was efficient with 11 points and 8 rebounds and sealed the game down the stretch. This is the version of the Sixers that can beat anyone in the league and they’ve now produced it in back-to-back games.

ladies and gentlemen… Tyrese Maxey!

30 PTS | 5 AST | 2 STL@PALottery pic.twitter.com/WNfbkCbKNC

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 1, 2026

The Celtics Inherited the Sixers’ Third Quarter Curse

Boston didn’t just struggle in the first half where they gave up 38 points in the second quarter. They came out flat in the third too. The Celtics got outscored 24-14 in the third period, which is hilarious because the diabolical third quarter collapse has been a Sixers trademark for years. Somehow they transferred that curse directly onto Boston and the Celtics had no answer for it.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points, well below his 28.7 season average. After watching the game, it looks like Brown should seriously consider the NFL with all the stiff arms he was throwing on drives to the basket. I didn’t realize that was part of the NBA rulebook but apparently if you’re Jaylen Brown the refs just let you extend your arm into a defender’s chest every other possession.

The Sixers played through it and won anyway.

The Answer Has Always Been Embiid

For everyone trying to figure out what changed from Game 1 to Game 6, the answer is simple. Joel Embiid.

The Sixers offense is built around him. It runs through him. His presence on the floor changes everything about how this team plays and how opponents have to defend them. Without Embiid in this series, Maxey shot 35.6 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three.

With Embiid, those numbers jump to 51.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three. That’s not a coincidence. That’s the best big man in basketball drawing defensive attention and making life easier for the other four guys on the court.

Embiid adds 26.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while reducing the pressure on a bench that only scored six points Thursday night.

GOOD MORNING. 👋 pic.twitter.com/DGDkXA0ss1

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 1, 2026

I’m going to ignore the bench output entirely because we won and I don’t feel like being angry about Quentin Grimes right now.

The offensive numbers still don’t capture what Embiid does defensively. His presence under the rim forces fewer shots in the paint. It coerces the Celtics into deliberate passing to the outside to avoid shooting over him, which could explain the high volume, low efficiency three-point shooting from Boston the last two games.

He also provides better defensive matchups for a Sixers team that is already small and trying to defend bigger bodies at every position. Embiid changes every equation on both ends and the results speak for themselves.

For Everyone Who Says These Wins Are Flukes

In Game 5, the Sixers won with better shooting efficiency, dominant play in the fourth quarter, and star production from Embiid. In Game 6, the Sixers won with the exact same formula. Better shooting efficiency, winning key quarters, getting contributions from every starter. That’s not a fluke. That’s a pattern. Two straight games where the Sixers have been the better basketball team and the Celtics haven’t been able to match them.

What Needs to Happen Saturday Night

Two things. The Sixers need to keep playing the same smart, efficient basketball they’ve played the last two games with Embiid on the court. They won the possession battle, the shooting battle, and showed the toughness to survive when the Celtics made their runs. Stay the course.

Embiid needs to stay upright and functional. He’s obviously not at full strength. He’s playing on a body that had an organ removed 22 days ago. But even limited, he’s one of the best players in the league and the most important player on the floor whenever he suits up. As long as he’s out there, the Sixers have a chance.

Only 13 teams in NBA playoff history have recovered from a 3-1 deficit. That’s 4.3 percent. Saturday night gives the Sixers a chance to make it 14. In Boston. Under pressure. With everything on the line.

Can they do it? Absolutely yes.

The odds say no. The city says yes. We want Boston in Game 7. We’ve always wanted Boston. Now we get them one more time with everything on the line in the building where this series started.

Saturday night. Game 7. Trust The Process.

Join The Chase