Minutes From Eastern Conference Finals, Sixers Epic Comeback Foiled

PHILADELPHIA, PA — An entire city gasped. It roared. And then it sighed.

Like an engine of fate roaring with the deferred inertia of six years worth of postseason frustration, the Sixers staged an epic comeback in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics Thursday night. But it wasn't enough to clinch, as Boston won 96-85.

This Joel Embiid era of Sixers basketball has seen the longest continued run of success and contention since the days of Allen Iverson, but never has it it advanced past the conference semifinal stage. And like all things Philly, the potential game clincher on home soil was executed with characteristic immoderation.

The game had all the attendant fanfare of a milestone clinch: surprise celebrities, like baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. behind the scorer's table and NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce courtside. Pregame, seemingly anachronistic photo ops with present and past stars, as Embiid slung his arm around a still-youthful Iverson in the locker room. Elsewhere in a city still simmering with Phillies and Eagles postseason magic, crowds at the Mann Center roared when performer Quinn XCII emerged in Sixers gear. And then the electricity of the arena itself, a current dimmed but slightly by a slow start, a current built and built until the facility sizzled and shook.

The Sixers were down tremendously at various points in the game. The Celtics ran up the score 15-3 to start. Embiid looked flat, and tired. Harden barely scored in the first. Boston was dominant despite their leading scorer, Jayson Tatum, contributing relatively little offensively.

It appeared the series was certainly headed back to Boston for seven games until the middle of the second quarter, and the team began to click. Embiid was untouchable on several drives, and Tyrese Maxey was lightning from the floor. Harden quarterbacked 10 assists, and on the other end of floor, Embiid's four (arguably, five) blocks resounded three hundred miles away along the banks of the Charles River.

But it was not enough. The Sixers missed several chances to put it away in the fourth quarter, including consecutive missed three pointers late. Boston stepped on the gas in the game's final three minutes and put it out of reach for good.

The Sixers entered the game with the best odds to win the NBA Finals now, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, as they're tied at plus 280 with the Denver Nuggets. The winner of Philly and Boston will face the winner of the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in the conference finals. The Heat currently lead that one, three games to two.

With the series all tied up at three apiece, the Sixers will head to Boston for the deciding game seven on Sunday.