Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George reacts during Game 6 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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With the Philadelphia 76ers leading by 23 points early in the fourth quarter Thursday night, Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla called timeout and took out star forward Jaylen Brown and center Neemias Queta. For the final 10 minutes and 24 seconds, the Celtics played all reserves, as Mazzulla all but admitted the game was over and preferred to rest his starters.

Now, after the 76ers defeated the Celtics 106-93 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, the teams return to Boston Saturday night for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first round series. It is an unlikely scenario considering the 76ers lost by 32 points in Game 4 last Sunday night, the second-worst home playoff loss in franchise history. They were outmatched and humiliated even as center Joel Embiid returned following a nearly three-week absence after undergoing emergency surgery for appendicitis. But the 76ers have since looked like a different team, winning two in a row to force the ninth Game 7 in their longtime rivalry with the Celtics.

Boston has won six of the eight previous Game 7 matchups, including in the 2023 conference semifinals when Jayson Tatum scored a career playoff-high 51 points in a 112-88 victory. The last time Philadelphia defeated Boston in a Game 7 was in the 1982 conference finals, which is the only time the 76ers have won a Game 7 on the road. Since then, the 76ers have lost each of their six postseason series against the Celtics.

Overall, Philadelphia is 6-12 in Game 7’s and has lost four in a row, with its most recent Game 7 victories coming in the 2001 conference semifinals and finals, both at home. Boston, meanwhile, is 27-10 in Game 7’s, including 5-2 since Tatum’s rookie season in 2017-18.

The 76ers are seeking to become just the 14th NBA team and the first since the Denver Nuggets in 2020 to overcome a three games to one deficit in a playoff series. Nearly 96% of teams that have won three of the first four games ended up winning the series, including 43 in a row. The 76ers have never won a series after losing three of the first four games, while the Celtics have never blown a 3-1 lead.

Still, after the 76ers struggled mightily last Sunday night, they now resemble the team that entered the season among the conference favorites. They overcame a 13-point second half deficit in Tuesday’s Game 5 in Boston. Two nights later, they were much more consistent and dominant, leading for the game’s final 31 minutes, including by double digits for all but 22 seconds of the second half.

Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 30 points on 11 of 22 shooting, while Embiid had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and Paul George contributed 23 points and made 8 of 17 field goals, including 5 of 9 on 3’s. George, whom the 76ers signed to a four-year, $212 million deal in July 2024, had 10 points in the third quarter as Philadelphia put the game out of reach.

“I just feel like he’s getting more confident every game at the offensive end,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said.

George also took turns defending Tatum and Brown, the Celtics’ best players, as he has all series. Brown scored a team-high 18 points on 7 of 17 shooting, while Tatum added 17 and made 6 of 13 field goals but sat out the final 16 minutes and three seconds. Tatum went back to the tunnel when he was taken out late in the third quarter and later rode on an exercise bicycle by the team’s bench, although he told reporters that his leg was “just a little stiff” and that he expects to play Saturday.

“(George has) just been excellent on defense,” Nurse said. “(Tatum and Brown) are great wings, and he’s got to battle them on every possession, and he is battling. They’re scoring, but he’s making them really work for it.”

Said George: “Jayson and JB are as good as it gets. They’re going to make tough shots. They’re going to challenge people. They’re going to make me look bad in moments. They’re going to embarrass me in matchups. But I enjoy the matchups. I enjoy the challenges. My whole career, I’ve always been excited on the defensive end. I tell people, I’ve just been gifted to score and be able to have a smoothness on the offensive end, but defensively I’ve always appreciated that side of the ball.”

When the 76ers signed George, the franchise felt it had an elite two-way veteran to team with Embiid and Maxey and contend for titles. But the threesome has rarely played together, with Embiid battling injuries and appearing in just 19 regular season games last season and 38 this season. George, meanwhile, played in only 41 games last season and 37 this season, including missing 25 games due to a suspension. The trio have been on the court for the past three playoff games and are starting to show how they complement each other.

“We’ve been having to figure it out on the fly,” said Maxey, who averaged 28.3 points per game in the regular season, fifth in the NBA. “Not a lot of practice time. But once (George) came back from his 25 games, he had a mission, and I think he’s accomplishing that mission.”

Said George: “Throughout a game, there’s been spurts where Tyrese will take over, where Joel will take over, myself, whether it’s creating, whether it’s scoring. I think that’s what we thought when I joined this team. No one has to go out there and do it alone.”

On Saturday night, the 76ers need all three of their stars to play near their top form to upset the Celtics and pull off the comeback series victory. The winner advances to the second round to face the New York Knicks, a team coming off a series-clinching 140-89 victory over the Atlanta Hawks Thursday night. It is the type of opportunity George envisioned when he joined the 76ers.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” George said. “But if we keep stacking wins like this, man, who knows where we’ll be.”