Philadelphia 76ers looking for historic comeback in NBA Play-offs Game 7 against Boston Celtics

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics will try to avoid a series collapse on the night of May 2 (Sunday morning, Singapore time) when they face the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round play-off series.

Second-seeded Boston held a 3-1 lead in the series, but lost Game 5 at home and then dropped Game 6, 106-93, in Philadelphia on April 30.

If the seventh-seeded 76ers can find a way to win Game 7 on the road, the Celtics would become only the 14th team in NBA history to lose a series after holding a 3-1 advantage.

“I’ve been playing these guys for so long,” said Philadelphia centre Joel Embiid. “I’m tired of losing to them. So we have a chance to accomplish something special. They’re a great team.

“You look at everything they have. That’s a super team. We just gotta go in with the mindset we’ve had for the last two games. One play at a time. Tough environment, but we’ve been there. We won two games over there.”

Boston were 12 of 41 from three-point territory in the loss on April 30, after being held to 11-of-39 shooting from behind the three-point arc in their 113-97 setback in Game 5.

“Very good game by us,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said following the April 30 victory, in which Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 30 points. “I think we played really well. Probably most impressed with our defensive effort, and shot creation was good.

“I don’t think the shot-making was great, but the shot creation was very good.”

Boston received a scare on April 30 when Jayson Tatum exited the court with 4min 3sec remaining in the third quarter and did not return. He said he felt tightness in his left leg, but is slated to play on May 2.

“We want to go out there and play the right way and win,” Tatum said. “It’s just we just got to be a little bit more together, a little bit tougher, play with more pace, play faster.

“How they have played majority of the season. Then since I’ve been back (from an Achilles injury), just kind of getting back to who we are.”

Two of Boston’s three wins in the series came by more than 30 points. The Celtics won Game 1 123-91, then prevailed 128-96 in Game 4 for a 3-1 lead.

“We definitely made some adjustments,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said after Game 6. “Some of them worked, some of them didn’t. As I said, I thought the Sixers played well, and we didn’t.”

Meanwhile, in play-off action on May 1, LeBron James scored 28 points for the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, who cruised to a 98-78 victory over the Houston Rockets and claimed their Western Conference series 4-2.

Cade Cunningham scored 32 points as the Detroit Pistons came back from a 24-point deficit to stun the hosts Orlando Magic 93-79, forcing a decisive Game 7 in their Eastern matchup.

RJ Barrett made a dramatic three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in overtime, as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 to also force Game 7 in the East. REUTERS