The two best words in sports: Game 7. The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics duked it out at TD Garden looking to advance in the 2023 NBA playoffs. With legacies and a crucially important season at stake — and on the 10-year anniversary of Sam Hinkie officially becoming Philly's general manager — the Sixers got smoked. The final score from an awful performance: 112-88.
Let's break down the winner-takes-all game between the Sixers and Celtics.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 5-18 FG shooting
What on earth was that performance, man? The Celtics poked the ball away from Embiid a bunch and he just couldn't score, with the exception of a few emphatic drives to the basket. He had space to work one-on-one and barely even got up good shots. His spectacular defense notwithstanding, that performance was a total dud and an excruciatingly disappointing ending to an MVP season.
James Harden: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3-11 FG shooting
With his good luck charm back to watch him play, Harden still played like he wanted fouls. One of his flailed attempts led to a six-point run for the Celtics that got them back into it. The Sixers have swum or sunk as Harden goes this series. He took as sharp of a nose-dive as he could have in this one.
Tyrese Maxey: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 5-12 FG shooting
Following two straight very good performances, Maxey was merely solid. He hustled on defense and shot the ball well. There could have been a bit more urgency on his part but with the two options ahead of him stinking it up, it's hard for me to blame him.
Celtics player notes:
Jayson Tatum: 51 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 17-28 FG shooting
The zero-turned-hero of Game 6 made sure he wasn't no-showing to start the game, notching 25 points by halftime on 9-16 shooting. He put the moves on whichever Sixers defender stood in front of him, digging Philly's grave with strong takes to the paint and pull-up threes galore. This was nothing short of a brilliant game for Tatum as he set the record for most points ever in a Game 7.
Jaylen Brown: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 9-19 FG shooting
Brown wasn't at his best but still had his share of tough buckets. Tatum led the way and he handled the rest with a solid game by scoring at opportune times in transition and shooting 3-5 from deep.
Game recap:
1st half
Harden picked off a pass in the backcourt and threw down an uncontested, two-hand dunk to put Philly on the scoreboard. The Sixers looked to get Embiid the ball in the post. It was a shaky start for the MVP as he failed to connect on his jumpers and gave up a backdoor cut by standing flat-footed and losing focus of his man. The Sixers were saved from another awful start by none other than P.J. Tucker, who had eight of Philly's first 15 points.
Doc Rivers opted to stick with his same starting five while Joe Mazzulla went with his dual-big lineup again. The move needed to be justified by Rivers having a short leash with Tucker. He missed his first shot but he stayed with it and hit his second attempt to retake the lead. He hit another and then scored on a floater after Boston scrambled to contain an open corner shooter. Philly realized that if Boston was going to leave Tucker open in the corner, they might as well use that space to its advantage.
The Sixers' defense did a good job of limiting threes and forcing Celtics misses. De'Anthony Melton flew all the way around on defense to contest whatever he could. One of his two blocks in the opening period led to a fast break that resulted in an old-fashioned three-point play from Embiid.
The Sixers won the three Embiid-less minutes of the half despite Harden going deep into his bag of grifts. Harden was hit with a Flagrant 1 for a play where he lifted his elbow into Brown's head after being stripped of the ball in the fast break. Brown hit a pair of foul shots, Tatum hit Williams on a lob and Brown took a Maxey pass the other way to cut the deficit to two. Six unanswered points in 29 seconds.
Niang got a tech for grabbing Brown from the bench and Brown got himself a tech after yelling at him. Horford got the lead back on a corner three as Tatum started cooking with some gorgeous buckets. Embiid tried to score on Horford but he stood strong as Embiid tried to drive through him. As Embiid started showing more aggression, the Sixers went into the half trailing 55-52.
2nd half
Embiid fed Harris on a triple to start the half, fighting his way through a double team to actually make a good play. Tatum responded with a strong drive to the hoop and an off-the-bounce corner three to put Boston up by seven. He drilled another pull-up three in Embiid's face before Harden hit one of his own. It didn't do much to unlock him or the Sixers as they opened the half with six points in as many minutes.
Horford blocked a jumper from Embiid as the Celtics went up by 15 on yet another pull-up three for Tatum. The drop coverage opened up that shot but even when Embiid got a hand in his face, it didn't matter. Boston's superstar had picked himself up after a brutal Game 6 and rose to the occasion with a masterpiece of a game. Philly's superstar, to put it frankly, did not. Part of it was because it took them time to get Embiid the ball. Part of it was that when he got it, he had nothing. Absolutely nothing. This game was over at some point in the third quarter.
What has to sting more than anything is how good the Sixers' supporting cast was. Melton didn't shoot all that well but he came to play. Harris was solid. Tucker did what he had to do after his spot in the starting lineup was potentially in jeopardy. Maxey wasn't great but seemed to be ready to go off if the Sixers offense allowed it.
Despite getting as much help from the supporting cast as they have all season long, Embiid and Harden folded. The Sixers went out sad by the stars that got them to this point. This afternoon's loss will rightfully play a massive role in their legacies. Their careers are not over but this was very likely their best opportunity to compete for a title. The Sixers came just one win from the franchise's first conference finals in 22 years. The wait will now reach its Jordan year.
The Sixers have been touting their improved depth, newfound mental edge and overall improvements all season long. In the end, two miserable games from their superstars are what they got at their most desperate hour. Failing to shut the door on the Celtics in Game 6 gave them the ultimate test and they flunked it. They looked like they didn't even study. This iteration of the team, as it turns out, was not all that different.
Random thoughts:
- Woj's report about the Game 6 officiating fed into the feverish discourse about the referee crew for this game. Doc Rivers took the bait when asked about the report before the game, though he still admitted that they have to play through it.
This summer should be yet another eventful offseason for the Sixers.
Follow Us
Subscribe