The 76ers Just Pulled Off a 3-1 Comeback Against the Celtics — And I'm Still Shaking

By Mike Chen · May 08, 2026

The Philadelphia 76ers have done the unthinkable. Down 3-1 to the Boston Celtics in the 2026 NBA Playoffs first round, Joel Embiid and company ripped off three straight wins — capped by a Game 7 victory on May 2 watched by 11 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, the most-watched first-round Game 7 in league history. This is one of the greatest comeback stories in recent playoff memory, and I genuinely thought it was over after Game 4.

How Did the 76ers Even Get Into a 3-1 Hole?

Let's rewind, because context matters here. Boston came out of the gate looking like the defending champions everyone expected. Jayson Tatum was unconscious from three in Games 1 and 2, the Celtics' defense smothered Maxey in pick-and-roll, and Embiid looked a half-step slow — like a guy whose body hadn't fully bought into playoff intensity yet.

Games 3 and 4 moved to Philadelphia, and I remember thinking: home court will fix this. It didn't. The Celtics stole Game 3 in overtime on a Derrick White three that I can still see when I close my eyes. Game 4 was a blowout. Boston won by 19. The series felt done. Every talking head on television said it was done. I said it was done.

We were all wrong.

What Changed in Game 5 That Sparked the Comeback?

Game 5 in Boston is where Joel Embiid decided he wasn't going home. There's no other way to describe it. He scored 42 points on the road in an elimination game, bullying Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis in the post like it was a personal vendetta. The Sixers won by 8, and for the first time all series, Boston looked rattled.

I was watching from my couch screaming at nobody. Embiid had that look — the one where his eyes go dead and he stops talking to referees, stops complaining, just works. When he gets quiet like that, bad things happen to whoever's guarding him.

The coaching adjustment was key too. Nick Nurse went small, pulled the traditional center, and let Embiid operate as the sole big man with four shooters around him. Boston's drop coverage couldn't handle it. Embiid was getting to the free throw line at will and punishing every double team with accurate kick-outs to Maxey and Harris.

Was Game 7 Really the Most-Watched First-Round Game 7 Ever?

Yes, and it's not particularly close. 11 million viewers tuned in on NBC and Peacock on May 2 to watch this thing play out. For a first-round series. Think about that. This wasn't a Conference Finals. This wasn't the NBA Finals. This was Round 1, Game 7, and it drew numbers that some Finals games would kill for.

The rivalry helped. Sixers-Celtics is genuine hatred — not manufactured, not media-driven, but rooted in decades of playoff wars and fan bases that genuinely cannot stand each other. Add in the comeback narrative, Embiid's legacy on the line, and Tatum trying to avoid an all-time choke, and you had appointment television.

I had friends who don't watch basketball texting me during the fourth quarter. That's how you know something has transcended the sport. This wasn't just a basketball game by the end — it was an event.

What Does This Comeback Mean for Joel Embiid's Legacy?

Everything. Absolutely everything. Before this series, the knock on Embiid was always the same: regular season monster, playoff disappointment. The second-round exits, the injuries at the worst times, the Game 7 loss to Toronto in 2019 that seemed to define his postseason ceiling.

That narrative is dead now. Embiid averaged 38 points across Games 5, 6, and 7 — all elimination games, all with his season on the line. He was dominant in the post, reliable from the mid-range, and — maybe most impressively — available. His body held up when it mattered most. He played 40+ minutes in each of the last three games and looked stronger in Game 7 than he did in Game 1.

I've been critical of Embiid in past postseasons. I'll own that. But what he did in this series belongs in the conversation with the greatest individual playoff performances we've seen. LeBron coming back from 3-1 in 2016 is the obvious comparison, and while the stakes were higher there (Finals vs. first round), the personal redemption arc hits just as hard.

How Will Boston Recover From Blowing a 3-1 Lead?

This is going to haunt the Celtics for years. There's no sugarcoating it. You don't blow a 3-1 lead to your most hated rival and just move on. The 2016 Warriors never fully escaped it. The 2004 Yankees never escaped it. Boston won't either.

Tatum disappeared in Games 6 and 7 — shot under 35% combined, turned the ball over in crucial moments, and looked like a guy pressing for something that was slipping away. Jaylen Brown was solid throughout, but he can't carry a team when Tatum goes cold. The supporting cast — White, Porzingis, Holiday — all had moments, but none of them could find a rhythm when Philadelphia's defense locked in.

The offseason questions will be brutal. Does the coaching staff survive? Does the roster need a shakeup? Can this core, which won a title in 2024, get back to that level, or was this collapse a sign of something deeper? I don't have answers yet. Nobody does. But the questions are loud, and they're not going away.

Where Does This Rank Among the Greatest NBA Playoff Comebacks?

Top five. I'll die on that hill. Yes, it was a first-round series. But the combination of factors — the rivalry intensity, the 11 million viewers, Embiid's personal redemption narrative, the quality of the opponent (defending champs who'd been dominant all season) — elevates this beyond a simple first-round upset.

I'd rank the modern-era 3-1 comebacks like this:

You can argue the order, but this series belongs in any conversation about modern playoff miracles. The Sixers were dead. They came back to life. And 11 million people watched it happen in real time.