The Philadelphia 76ers stunned the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their 2026 NBA playoffs first-round series on Saturday night in Boston, rallying from a 3-1 deficit to win and advance. Jayson Tatum sat out with knee stiffness after three straight Philadelphia victories, including the two prior games where he played through discomfort; Jaylen Brown led Boston with 33 points in the loss.
Boston entered as Eastern Conference favorites after a 56-win regular season but faltered against the Play-In 76ers, a team they historically dominated in playoffs. After taking a 3-1 lead—previewed in prior coverage—the Celtics dropped three straight, capped by Saturday's Game 7 defeat. Tatum, returning from a season-long torn Achilles, was ruled out due to knee stiffness, forcing coach Joe Mazzulla to unconventional lineups: starting just two Game 1 players (Brown and Derrick White) and relying on reserves like Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, and Ron Harper Jr. Brown nearly mounted a comeback with 33 points, but Boston's 3-point shooting cratered below 30% across all four losses to Philly—a recurring playoff issue seen against the Knicks and Heat. The Celtics ranked fourth in 3-point volume but lacked rim attacks and depth after shedding Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford, and others to dodge luxury tax and reset repeater status. This exposed limits of the Tatum-Brown core without support. Offseason flexibility includes a $27.7 million trade exception and draft picks. Reports indicate interest in Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who praised Mazzulla's no-excuses approach: 'You had so many opportunities to make excuses, but you didn't.' Questions loom on the duo's viability long-term.
