The 14th 3-1 comeback in NBA history.
The first 30/10 Game 7 duo since Shaq and Kobe.
Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey & the Philadelphia 76ers are moving on, after their first Game 7 win since 2001.
Read on to get set for two more Game 7s today.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Three Game 7s: What to know about this weekend’s trio, quick
Philly Did It: Embiid & Maxey complete Sixers’ 3-1 comeback for first Game 7 win since 2001
Duo Delivered: How Embiid’s return and Maxey’s clutch play swayed the series and Game 7
Game 7 In Detroit: In one final battle, will the 1-seed Pistons complete the comeback or will 8-seed Orlando advance?
Game 7 in Cleveland: Game 6 hero RJ Barrett thrust into spotlight showdown with all-time closer Mitchell, Cavs
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Two more Game 7s on Sunday…
What’s better than a Saturday night Game 7?
How about two more on Sunday:
- On ABC: Game 7 between the Magic and Pistons (3:30 ET | Tap To Watch)
- On NBC & Peacock’s Sunday Night Basketball: Raptors vs. Cavaliers, Game 7 (7:30 ET | Tap To Watch)
1. BEST TWO WORDS IN SPORTS, AGAIN: 3 GAME 7s IN 1 MINUTE
Fernando Medina + Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images
One down, two to go.
In the 23 years since the First Round expanded to best-of-7, only one season’s had more opening-round Game 7s than this year’s trio (2014, with five).
And after Philly showed just how much a Game 7 win can mean (get much more in Sections 2 & 3), two more Game 7s await today, when the Magic & Pistons meet at 3:30 ET (ABC) and Raptors & Cavs square off at 7:30 ET (NBC/Peacock).
Four seasons on the brink on the final day of the first round.
Which two teams are moving on? Which two teams are going home?
Here’s what you gotta know.
- So Many Sevens: This is the second-most Game 7s in a First Round since 2003 (5, 2014), when the opening round expanded to from 5 to 7-game series
- Follow My Lead: The Sixers and Pistons can be the first teams in NBA history to complete 3-1 comebacks in the same Playoff round, in the same season
- Hosts Boast: Neither Cleveland nor Detroit have ever lost a Game 7 at home (both 4-0), and Boston’s home loss last night was just the 41st of 156 Game 7s
- No Rest, No Wait: The winners of today’s Game 7s will meet on equal rest in an East Semis series beginning Tuesday, unlike the Knicks’ two-day wait for Philly
- Who’s Historic? The Magic are trying to become just the 7th 8-seed to eliminate a 1-seed, while the Pistons look to follow the Sixers as the 15th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit
- The record for most Game 7s in a single season is five, which happened in 1993-94, 2013-14 and 2015-16. 2025-26 already has three, with seven more opportunities to come
2. SIXERS GET THEIR GAME 7 WIN, ELIMINATING CELTICS
2019 East Semis: Kawhi Leonard, four bounces and the first-ever Game 7 buzzer-beater
2021 East Semis: Three home losses as the 1-seed and Atlanta’s first-ever Game 7 road win
2023 East Semis: Jayson Tatum’s 51-point explosion for the all-time Game 7 scoring record
After years of Game 7 disappointments for Philly and its fans, the 76ers finally got their win.
And they did so in historic fashion, becoming just the 14th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.
Sixers 109, Celtics 100: Joel Embiid (34 pts, 12 reb, 6 ast) led all scorers with his biggest output of the series, Tyrese Maxey (30 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast) delivered 22 2nd-half points, and rookie VJ Edgecombe (23 pts, 6 reb, 5 3s) starred on both ends, as No. 7 Philly clinched Game 7 over No. 2 Boston on the road to advance.
They’ll next take on the No. 3 Knicks in the Conference Semifinals.
Jaylen Brown’s 33 points led Boston, with 26 more on five 3s from Derrick White. Jayson Tatum (knee stiffness) was ruled out just over two hours prior to tip-off. | Recap
- C’s coach Joe Mazzulla then reshaped his starting lineup, giving Luka Garza, Ron Harper Jr. and Baylor Scheierman their first-career Playoff starts. Only two players in the previous 50 years made their first Playoff starts in a Game 7
- Philly’s Best Start: The 76ers responded to the wrinkle with energy, getting out to a double-digit lead, with 10 points from Embiid and 9 from VJ Edgecombe to claim their first opening quarter of the series, 32-19
- Back & Forth: Derrick White’s 12-point 2nd quarter brought the C’s back to take a 37-36 lead before Embiid sank 9 more points to restore a 55-50 Philly halftime lead
Embiid led the Sixers with 19 1st-half points, matched only by White on the other side. Edgecombe supported Embiid with 12 points, but wanted to impact the game another way.
“[VJ] came out of halftime saying: ‘I got White, and I’m gonna do better on him,’” Sixers coach Nick Nurse shared. White made just one 3-ball after that (3-13 FG).
- Philly Flying: Maxey got going after the break, netting 8 points in the first 5 minutes and 12 overall in the 3rd. Edgecombe added 9 as Philly built its largest lead, 84-66
- Pull Out The Stops: That’s when Boston fanned out into a zone defense. The switch-up held the Sixers scoreless from the field for the first 3 minutes of the 4th
- Celtics Surge: That was the break Boston needed, starting the 4th with a 16-4 comeback. Jaylen Brown’s and-1 finish with 8 minutes to go made it a 1-point game
- Maxey’s Moment: Philly was just 2-for-13 in the 4th with 2 minutes left, until Maxey hit back-to-back layups for 5 points of breathing room and sealed the game at the line
“The way we’re playing right now, we’re [so] in sync,” Embiid said postgame. “That’s what I’ve always wanted: Playing winning basketball, sharing the ball… defensively, everybody being locked in… that’s how you win.”
- That locked-in defense found a winning recipe, limiting Boston to 26.5 3P% (13-49) in Game 7. The C’s shot under 30% from 3 and were held at or below 100 points in all four Philly wins
- “When you go after greatness, you have to accept the other side of that,” Mazzulla said postgame. … “You’re gonna fail. We failed by not winning but we stick to the process…”
- X-Factor First: Edgecombe is the first-ever rookie with 20+ points, 5+ reb and 5+ 3s in the Game 7. His 23 points are a Sixers’ rookie record for a Game 7, and he joins Tatum as the only 20+ point Game-7 scorers under age 20
3. EMBIID’S RETURN, MAXEY’S ATTACK PUSH PHILLY PAST NO. 2 BOSTON
Joel Embiid was 0-for-3.
Tyrese Maxey was 0-for-2.
In fact, the 76ers hadn’t won a Game 7 since 2001, when Allen Iverson’s squad did so to reach the Finals.
That all changed Saturday night, on the road, in the home of their rivals, the No. 2 seed to Philly’s 7-seed, coming back from a 3-1 deficit.
With that much working against them, what made this Game 7 climb different for Philly?
- “We had a talk after Game 5,” Maxey said. “We can’t let the same stuff happen over and over and over and over again. At some point, we have to put a stop to it. And we did.”
- Power Production: Embiid (34 pts, 12 ast, 6 ast) and Maxey (30 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast) combined for over half of Philly’s Game 7 points, rebounds and assists
- Duo Royalty: They join Kobe & Shaq (2002) as the only duos in the last 50 years to each log 30+ points and 10+ rebounds in a Game 7, and stand alone when adding in their 5+ assists each
These Sixers achieved the first 3-1 series comeback since the 2020 Denver Nuggets, with Maxey and Embiid leading the turnaround.
- Following his appendectomy, Embiid only appeared in the final four games of the series, going 3-1 while averaging 28.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 7.3 apg. Maxey had a very similar 28.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 5.7 apg in that stretch
- “What changed in the series is Joel Embiid came back,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after Game 7
Embiid’s return in Game 4, just 17 days removed from surgery, came before “Game 7” was the main motivator, or even a possibility. So what fueled Joel to risk his return?
- “I’m tired of losing to them,” Embiid said of his long history with the Celtics in the lead-up to Game 7
- That Much Sweeter: In addition to the Game 7 demons exorcised, Saturday’s win also marked Philly’s first series win over Boston since 1982
- “It means everything,” Maxey said of Embiid putting his body on the line for his team. “All we can do is appreciate him, he’s been doing it all year; all his career really.”
If Embiid helped alter the series in Philly’s favor, Maxey did so inside Game 7 itself.
- Ty’s Takes: In Game 7’s final two minutes, as Boston stormed back within a possession, Maxey himself sank as many field goals (2) as the rest of his team did in the quarter
- “I just really wanted the ball,” Tyrese said. “I knew I would need to step up and make plays down the stretch for us to win the game.”
- “What he’s been doing: All-NBA,” Embiid said of Maxey’s play
The winning duo will now take on a comparable counterpart in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, as the East Semis start in New York Monday at 8 ET (NBC & Peacock).
4. GAME 7 IN DETROIT: HISTORIC COMEBACK OR HISTORIC UPSET?
Thirty. Four. Years.
That’s how many years, combined, it’s been since the Pistons or Magic have advanced beyond the First Round.
Sixteen for Orlando. Eighteen for Detroit.
One of those droughts ends today, in a series that’s already over-delivered on history, and drama.
After the top-seeded Pistons became the 38th team to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-1, Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren look to punch Detroit’s first second-round ticket since 2008 – while Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Orlando are out to be just the 7th 8-seed to move on.
To do that, Orlando will need to shake off a 2nd-half struggle that would haunt any team: Outscored 55-19 to erase a 24-point lead, 23 consecutive missed shots over nearly 14 minutes of game play, and 1-for-20 shooting (5% FG) in the 4th quarter.
“You gotta wash it,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “You gotta learn from it. You gotta go get Game 7, and you gotta do it the hard way.”
That ability to move on and overcome adversity is a trait both of these teams share, and a required skill in a series like this one.
- Not Done Yet: Top-seeded Detroit is still standing after facing down elimination in two straight games. The team would be just the 15th, after Philly last night, to move on after going down 3-1
- Play-In Primer: The Magic took on two extra games just to get to Detroit after finishing 8th and falling to Philly in their Play-In opener. They then had to tame one of the season’s hottest teams in Charlotte
- Health Hindrance: Orlando fought through another injury-plagued season, with Franz Wagner (ankle, calf) missing 48 games, along with the final 3 of this series, and 25 absences for Jalen Suggs (various)
- Without Cade: The Pistons faced one of their toughest challenges of the season navigating the stretch run without their All-Star engine Cunningham, who missed 11 games with a collapsed lung. Detroit rallied to go 8-3 in that stretch
- Been There Before: Orlando’s second half drought — and a bounceback from it — has a little precedent this year: on Mar. 29, the Raptors scored 31 straight against the Magic
- After that? Orlando won six of its next seven games
Resiliency like this for Orlando and Detroit isn’t contained to just this season.
These Game 7 foes, meeting today at 3:30 ET (ABC) for a chance to add a brand-new chapter to their franchise’s history, both found themselves at the very bottom of the East four years ago.
- Hard Times: Detroit, featuring a rookie Cunningham, finished 2021-22 just 23 wins, 14th in the East ahead of only Orlando (22 wins), who would go on to draft Banchero 1st overall that summer
- Difference Makers: Now the Magic have had made three consecutive Playoff appearances for the first time since 2012, and after becoming the first team to triple its win total year-over-year last season, Detroit upped again to 60 wins
Today, Cunningham, Banchero and their teams have a chance to take a major next step.
- Another All-Out Duel? While Game 6 featured wild swings, Game 5’s twin 45-point scoring showdown saw Cade set a new Pistons Playoff high, and Paolo come within a bucket of Orlando’s
- Block Party: The Pistons’ 60 blocks through six games are the most in any six-game Playoff stretch since 1994
- No Repeats: Orlando last played a Game 7 two seasons ago in the First Round, against another explosive scorer, as Donovan Mitchell (39 pts) outdueled Paolo (38 pts) in the largest Game 7 comeback (18 points) of the play-by-play era
5. GAME 7 IN THE LAND: LOCAL HERO VS. ALL-TIME CLOSER
Those 1.7 seconds were a lifetime in the making.
When RJ Barrett’s time-stopping OT jumper fell in – after hanging in the air for nearly two seconds, following a bounce off the back of the rim – it didn’t just help the Raptors avoid elimination in Game 6.
It made for a new instant-classic moment for the franchise, delivered by someone who’d dreamed of it growing up just a few miles down the road.
“Just happy to be able to be in this moment, playing for my hometown team,” Barrett said. “That’s amazing. I’m so proud of this group so far, and I think it’s going to be even sweeter when we go get Game 7.”
The hoops world drew immediate comps to Kawhi Leonard’s all-timer in 2019. Barrett did, too.
How iconic this one will be, time will tell. But when the Raptors and Cavaliers meet in a win-or-go-home Game 7 today (7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock), the hometown kid will find he’s a key part in a battle of star duos out to send their teams to new heights.
- Reinforcements: After Cleveland fell short of the Conference Finals as the top seed last year, Donovan Mitchell, now paired with James Harden, looks to lead the Cavs back there (and beyond)
- Last Conference Finals Appearance? 2018 – which capped a 3-year stretch of Cleveland ending Toronto’s seasons
- Last Game 7: Spida went for 39 to close out Orlando in the 2024 First Round
- Spida’s Stage: Mitchell averages 32.2 ppg in potential series-clinching games in his career, 4th-most in NBA history (min. 5 games) behind MJ, Iverson and Giannis
- One At A Time: For Toronto, Barrett and Scottie Barnes are looking to send the Raptors past the first round for the first time since 2020
- Extra Even: Through six games, both teams have scored 669 points each, marking just the second Game 7 in NBA history to feature a zero point differential, along with the Cavs and Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals
Leave a Reply