Atlantic Liquidation
Philadelphia walked into TD Garden on Sat May 2 as the #7 seed and walked out with the series. The 109-100 final closed Boston's season at home. Boston led for the size of one point in the entire game; PHI's biggest lead was 18. The Sixers' Game 7 ORtg of 111.1 buried a Celtics offense that died at 26.5% from three. The #2 seed is gone. The Eastern bracket lost its line favorite.
Boston's Q1 was the autopsy. The Celtics scored 19 to Philadelphia's 32 — a 13-point hole that sat above Boston's largest lead of the night (1). Tyrese Maxey owned the half: 30 points on 11/18 FG, 7 assists, 11 rebounds, 6/6 from the line, 72.7% TS. The 30-piece compressed Boston's defense into the paint, where PHI scored 42 to Boston's 40.
Joel Embiid stacked on top: 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 14 free-throw attempts, a 45 efficiency rating — the highest figure on either roster. The Maxey-Embiid core combined for 64 points on 23/44 (52.3%) from the field. Boston's starting backcourt could not match it.
The shooting collapse was structural. Boston attempted 49 threes — 21 more than Philadelphia — and made 13. PHI took 28 and made 11. The volume bet that has powered Boston all year inverted in Game 7: 26.5% from deep against a Sixers team that hit 39.3%. eFG% diff: PHI 54.3 vs BOS 46.8. TS% diff: PHI 59.2 vs BOS 50.0 — a 9.2-point efficiency gap.
Jaylen Brown finished 33 on 12/27 (44.4%), a -16 in plus/minus. Derrick White went 9/26 (34.6%), 5/16 from three, -6. The Boston starting backcourt accounted for 21 of the team's 49 three-point attempts and made 7. That is the series, in one number.
VJ Edgecombe was Philadelphia's hidden multiplier: 23 points, 5/11 from three, +19 plus/minus, the highest on either roster. Paul George contributed 13 on 65.0% TS. Bench points: PHI 3, BOS 41 — Boston dominated the only category that did not move the game, against a Sixers starting five that closed at a 111.1 ORtg.
Key Stats
- Series: PHI 4, BOS 3 — #7 seed advances over #2 seed.
- TS% gap: PHI 59.2 vs BOS 50.0 — 9.2 points.
- 3PT volume: BOS 49 attempts (26.5%), PHI 28 attempts (39.3%).
- Q1: PHI 32, BOS 19 — 13-point hole Boston never closed.
- Maxey: 30 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 11/18 FG, 72.7% TS.
- Embiid: 34 pts, 12 reb, 6 ast, 9/11 FT, 14 FTA.
- Edgecombe: +19, 5/11 from three, team-high plus/minus.
- Brown: 33 pts, -16, 12/27 FG.
- White: 26 pts, -6, 9/26 FG (34.6%), 5/16 from three.
- BOS biggest lead: 1. PHI biggest lead: 18.
- Rebounds: PHI 56, BOS 49 — Sixers +7.
- Turnovers: PHI 9, BOS 5 — one of the few Boston categories.
The Fallout
Boston Celtics — out as the #2 seed. The 26.5% Game 7 three-point rate is the lowest of Boston's series. The 50.0% TS is the lowest of any Boston home game in the matchup. Boston led the game for the size of one point and lost by nine. Postseason exit at #2 is the worst Eastern result of the Boston core era under Joe Mazzulla.
Philadelphia 76ers — Eastern Conference Semifinals secured. The Sixers absorbed a 32-point loss in Game 1 (BOS 123-91) and recovered three of the next four wins on a 39.3% Game 7 three-point rate. Embiid posted 34/12/6 in the closeout, his 45 efficiency rating leading both rosters. PHI starters outscored BOS starters 106-59 in Game 7.
Eastern Conference compresses around #3 New York. With BOS gone, the path to the East Finals runs through Madison Square Garden. The Knicks closed Atlanta 4-2 in Round 1 and now hold home-court in every remaining East series. The (TOR/CLE) and (DET/ORL) winners — both 3-3 entering their Game 7s — will face the PHI/NYK winner in the Eastern Finals.
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