The Philadelphia 76ers turned TD Garden into a looming house of stress Thursday night, thumping the Boston Celtics 106-93 in Game 6 and stretching this second-round series to a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday. A Boston cushion that once sat at 3-1 is gone, and what was supposed to be a comfortable closeout has turned into a one-night referendum back in Beantown. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George powered the Sixers while Boston’s perimeter shooting went ice cold.
Maxey poured in 30 points and George added 23, with Joel Embiid chipping in 19 in a near-complete effort that flipped the feel of the series in Philadelphia, according to CBS News. The Sixers led by as many as 23 and never allowed Boston to mount anything resembling a real comeback.
On the other side, the Celtics’ stars never found their groove. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 17, and the team misfired to a 12-for-41 night from three-point range. As the deficit ballooned in the fourth quarter, coach Joe Mazzulla called a timeout and pulled his starters with 10:24 remaining while the Sixers were stretching the lead, per The Boston Globe. The message was clear enough: live to fight on Saturday.
How Philly Seized Control
The 76ers grabbed the game by the throat in the third quarter, a surge capped by a Paul George break that set up a V.J. Edgecombe dunk, and the Celtics never really answered. Philadelphia leaned on George’s efficient shooting and Maxey’s timely plays, a swing that shows up cleanly in the official box score and play-by-play at CBS Sports.
What’s Next
Game 7 is set for Saturday night at TD Garden, with tipoff time and broadcast details listed on the league’s schedule at NBA.com. For the Celtics, the checklist is straightforward and unforgiving: rediscover the long-range touch, cut down on turnovers, and avoid turning a 3-1 advantage into a collapse that will be talked about all summer. For Philadelphia, the formula is to keep Boston’s shooters uncomfortable and ride Maxey’s shot creation to the finish line.
In the meantime, Celtics fans and local analysts will obsess over rotation decisions and health updates. Some coverage has already highlighted that Mazzulla emptied the bench late and that the reserves briefly shaved the margin, a detail noted by CelticsBlog. With both teams staring at a one-game playoff, the next 48 hours are about rest, tweaks, and discovering which locker room actually wants this thing more.
