How Boston Let the Series Slip Away
The Boston Celtics did not just lose a playoff series. They handed it away, watched it slip through their fingers, then stood there as the Philadelphia 76ers walked into TD Garden and ended their season in Game 7.
Up 3-1 in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Boston had every chance to close the door. They had the home crowd, the deeper roster, the championship expectations, and the pressure squarely on Philadelphia. Instead, the Celtics crumbled. The 76ers won Game 7, 109-100, completing a stunning comeback and sending Boston into an offseason full of uncomfortable questions.
So what happened? Let’s call it what it was: a choke.
Yes, Jayson Tatum’s absence in Game 7 mattered. Any team losing its top star before a winner-take-all game is going to feel it. But this collapse did not start in Game 7. It started the moment Boston failed to treat a 3-1 lead like a responsibility. The Celtics had three chances to finish the job, and each time, they looked tighter, slower, and more predictable.
For Philadelphia, the X-factors showed up with grown-man energy. Joel Embiid changed the series with his presence, giving the Sixers a true inside force and forcing Boston to defend differently on every possession. Tyrese Maxey brought speed, confidence, and that fearless playoff edge. Paul George added veteran shot-making and defensive toughness. And VJ Edgecombe gave Philadelphia the kind of young-player spark that can flip a series when nobody expects it.
Boston had its own bright spots. Jaylen Brown fought, Payton Pritchard had huge moments earlier in the series, and Derrick White battled. But when the series got heavy, the Celtics did not have enough poise. The ball stuck. The offense stalled. The energy dipped. In the biggest moments, Boston looked like a team waiting for someone else to save them.
Was it coaching? Partly. Joe Mazzulla needed cleaner late-game answers and better adjustments once Philadelphia found rhythm. Was it the players? Absolutely. At some point, the stars and veterans have to close. Was it effort? That is the question Celtics fans will be asking all summer, because Boston looked like a team that assumed the series was over before it actually was.
The 76ers earned this. The Celtics invited disaster.
And in a rivalry built on pride, history, and pressure, Boston just gave Philadelphia a playoff moment that will sting for years.
