Sixers Defeat Celtics In One Of The Greatest Upsets In Franchise History

PHILADELPHIA, PA — From a Garden too long in bloom, Philadelphia has plucked its most unlikely flower.

The Sixers defeated the Boston Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Saturday night, marking the first time in seven matchups across the past forty one years that Philly has gotten past Boston in the playoffs.

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It's one of the greatest upsets in recent Philadelphia history, and perhaps the greatest Sixers victory since Allen Iverson stepped over Tyronn Lue in the 2001 Finals. And a 2026 Sixers team that has spent years snakebitten, that has seen its stars fallen foul of fate time and again, that is just a year removed from one of the worst records in basketball, is the mostly unlikely iteration to get over the hump.

But the Sixers did not play like underdogs after dropping a game one blowout, standing toe to toe with the Celtics even though they were without the injured Embiid, for the first three games of the series. They fell behind three games to one but stormed back from that deficit for the first time in franchise history, winning three consecutive game.

That included the clincher in front of a wilting Boston crowd Saturday night, a game the Sixers controlled from the jump. They took a commanding 30-15 lead at one point in the opening quarter, and though Boston drew close a handful of times, they only had one lead all night.

The determining factor came at the apex of the final Boston run in the fourth quarter, when they narrowed the lead to one point, at 99-98. Embiid had been hobbling for several plays. The Boston crowd was starting to come to life. Tyrese Maxey took over the game, penetrating the Celtic paint on consecutive possessions and then draining all four free throws after he was fouled. They won by a final of 109-100.

The second seeded Celtics were enormous betting favorites entering the series and even before game seven, with an implied probability to win of more than 90 percent.

It could be a watershed moment for a Sixers franchise that suddenly finds itself as a favorite in the eastern conference and the clearest path to the Finals in the era of the Process.

The Sixers will now face the New York Knicks in the eastern conference semifinals starting next week.