![]() ![]() And every time I say it, I always find a way to get better.” I just got to be better and I will be better. It’s hard to win alone, but it’s all on me. If you want to call me the best player on the team, every failure and every loss, no matter what, I guess you can put on the best player. ![]() “I gotta be better, I guess that’s on me. ![]() “I’m not gonna overreact,” Embiid said after the Sixers season ended in Boston with a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals. After a humiliating 112-88 loss to the Boston Celtics at a jubilant TD Garden on Sunday, the Sixers have made the second round of the playoffs in five of the past six years … and have lost all five times.Īnd now, perhaps more than ever during this stretch, it is clear that Embiid is not exactly an innocent bystander to all the playoff flameouts. Embiid, who was voted the NBA’s most valuable player this season, has been at the center of that sustained success.Īnd yet, the story ends the same way every season: The Sixers earn one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference with 50-something wins, and like clockwork, they lose in the second round. They won 54 regular-season games, the franchise’s highest number since the magical 2000-01 campaign. Since Embiid’s second season on the floor in 2017-18, the Sixers have a regular-season record of 300-173. The issue is that none of those wins have come after the middle of May, which are the victories that all 30 NBA franchises covet. But before all that, Boston needed to break through the tension of a slow start.īOSTON - The Philadelphia 76ers have won a bunch of games since Joel Embiid stepped onto the floor for the franchise. His special outing helped set up an Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Miami Heat. It became those things in the second half as Jayson Tatum, who poured in 51 points, and raced toward the highest-scoring Game 7 in NBA history. It would be easy to remember the Celtics’ 112-88 win as a laugher, a blowout, a TD Garden celebration. “We have to shift the momentum,” Mazzulla said. Mazzulla called for the Celtics to seize it. With a five-point deficit already and James Harden stepping to the free-throw line for two shots, the most important moment of the season sat waiting on the other side of the timeout. Three minutes into the second quarter of Game 7, the flames of ruthless competitiveness lit up his face. With veins popping out of his neck, Mazzulla addressed the players next. The Celtics coach almost always huddles with a group of his assistants before addressing the players, but skipped that step this time, spinning straight for the bench after concluding his brief chat with the official. After signaling for a timeout, he blasted one of the referees, pointing to different spots on the court to emphasize his message. For 76ers, who had title hopes, another early playoff exit leads to more uncertaintyįind the best ticket deals on StubHub to see your favorite team.īOSTON - Joe Mazzulla walked out to midcourt in a hurry Sunday afternoon.How Joe Mazzulla helped Celtics keep perspective and season alive in clutch Game 7.Celtics throttle 76ers, advance to East finals: How Jayson Tatum delivered a historic 51-point Game 7 performance.Philadelphia, meanwhile, extends its conference finals drought to 22 seasons.įollow here for live news, updates and analysis from The Athletic's staff. Boston will make the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in four years and fifth time in the last seven. A third-quarter surge led by Jayson Tatum, who rebounded from his 5-for-21 shooting performance in Game 6 to post 51 points in Game 7, turned this into a blowout. After rallying to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 to keep their season alive, the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a dominant 112-88 win in Game 7. ![]()
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