NBA Playoffs 2023: Sixers fail to close out Celtics at home and now face Game 7 in Boston

Are Joel Embiid and the 76ers headed for another disappointing ending in the Eastern Conference semifinals?

The Sixers had a golden opportunity to close out the Boston Celtics on their home court in Game 6 of the conference semifinals Thursday night, but came up short, 95-86, sending the series back to Boston for Game 7 on Sunday.

Jayson Tatum scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, making 4-of-5 from deep, after shooting 1-for-13 for 3 points through the first three quarters. Boston outscored the Sixers 24-13 in the final 12 minutes.

“I’m humbly one of the best basketball players in the world, go through struggles, go through slumps,” Tatum said on ESPN. “It’s a long game, and thankfully I got some great teammates that held it down…and they all trusted me. They told me to keep taking great looks, it’s going to fall, keep impacting the game in other ways.

“And all that mattered was we won this game, right, give ourselves another chance to come back home for a Game 7.”

The Sixers had a chance to reach the conference finals for the first time since the Allen Iverson-led squad lost to Shaquille O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

They had a chance to overcome a 2-1 deficit to win the last three games of the series against the Celtics, who were the betting favorite to win the NBA title for much of the season. The Celtics lost in last year’s NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors.

But they came up short despite 26 apiece from Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. James Harden had 13 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds.

“We just talked about the fourth quarter, it’s 12 minutes, our season is on the line,” Tatum said. “Everybody knew what was on the line, what we had to do. And we say it all the time, find a way. Whatever that way it is, it may be different on any given night, but we figured it out tonight.”

Philadelphia had failed in its last three attempts to clinch a berth in the conference finals: in 2012, 2019 and 2021, the last two on teams led by Embiid. This was the first time they led 3-2 in the conference semis.

“I only care about one thing — winning,” Embiid, the newly minted NBA MVP, said coming into the game. “We got a pretty good chance. We got to get one more.”

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Embiid continues to play at an elite level despite dealing with a sprained right knee that kept him out of Game 1.

“I don’t think about the injury, no matter how painful it might be,” Embiid said entering the game. “I just want to compete. Day by day, you never know what can happen, whether swelling or pain. You just got to … pray.”

Embiid, who in 2021 signed a four-year, $196 million extension with the 76ers, desperately wants to get to a conference finals after his previous disappointments.

In 2019, Embiid battled through illness and flu-like symptoms during the second round of the playoffs, but the Sixers lost in seven games to the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors.

Two years later, Embiid averaging 30.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists but the Sixers lost to Atlanta in seven games.

In both cases, the Sixers won Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7.

Now they face yet another Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.

“It’s Game 7,” Tatum said, “doesn’t get any better than that.”

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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.