Sixers Advance! Embiid’s Dominance, Mazzulla Questions, and Knicks Preview.
May 3, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe Philadelphia 76ers went into Boston on Saturday night and did something they have not done in decades: win a Game 7 on the road, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the top-seeded Celtics. The final score was 109-99, but the game was closer than that — tied at 98 with four minutes left — before Boston missed five consecutive high-quality shots and the Sixers pulled away. The win exorcises some of the franchise’s most painful recent memories, including Joel Embiid’s infamous no-show in a Game 7 loss on this same floor in 2023. It also raises immediate questions about the Celtics’ identity and coaching, while setting up a second-round rematch with the New York Knicks that could determine the Eastern Conference favorite.
Embiid and Maxey Deliver a Masterpiece
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:09) **Sixers Stun Celtics in Game Seven** - Zach Lowe and Michael Pina react to Philadelphia completing a 3-1 comeback, ending Boston's season on a bizarre and dramatic night.
- 2 (04:07) **Mazzulla’s Bizarre Starting Lineup** - The Celtics opened with a shocking, unconventional lineup that included Ron Harper Jr., who never saw the floor again after a disastrous start.
- 3 (05:35) **The Embiid-Maxey Duo Delivers** - Joel Embiid (34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) and Tyrese Maxey (30 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists) played masterful, error-free games to exorcise past playoff demons.
- 4 (10:10) **A Team Destiny Swap** - Zach observes that the Sixers magically became the team everyone thought they could be, while Boston became the shallow, vulnerable team he feared they would be at the start of the season.
- 5 (16:01) **Questions About “Mazzulla Ball”** - The loss raises legitimate concerns about Boston’s playoff offense, which often devolves into a predictable diet of threes and mid-range jumpers without getting to the free-throw line.
- 6 (19:53) **The Missing Offensive Rebounding** - A key factor in the Celtics’ demise was their failure to crash the offensive glass, a hallmark of their regular-season success.
- 7 (24:04) **Boston’s Offseason Reckoning** - The loss forces a difficult look at the Celtics’ future, as they have limited flexibility to dramatically change the roster outside of a few key decisions.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Zach is joined by Michael Pina to react to the 76ers beating the Celtics in game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They discuss the dominance of Embiid and Maxey, Mazzula’s confounding coaching performance, and preview Knicks-76ers.
(0:00) Welcome to The Zach Lowe Show!
(2:41) Michael Pina joins the show!
(5:08) This is one of the most impressive performances of Embiid’s career
(9:22) The series started to shift in game 3
(15:34) Joe Mazzulla made some questionable decisions tonight
(25:02) Early thoughts on Knicks-Sixers
Host: Zach Lowe
Guest: Michael Pina
Producers: Mike Wargon, Jonathan Frias, and Billy Gil
Social: Keith Fujimoto and Michael Szokoli
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