April 30, 2026
PHILADELPHIA – For years, the Sixers have been a theoretical basketball team. On paper, the names look excellent. In reality, it has all made for an underwhelming period for the organization. But on Thursday night, they played their best collective basketball game in years. The result: an emphatic 106-93 win in Game 6 of their first-round series against the rival Celtics, forcing this series back to Boston for Game 7.
Joel Embiid, despite a miserable shooting performance, was a true force, leveraging the fear he incites in defenders to create opportunities for others. Tyrese Maxey was dazzling, Paul George provided as significant of a two-way lift as he ever has in a Sixers uniform, and the Sixers' starting lineup completely decimated that of Boston.
The closest the Celtics came to mounting a comeback was when, with more than 10 minutes left, head coach Joe Mazzulla turned to five reserves, benched all of his starters for the duration and hoped they would work their way to a win. The Sixers looked less sharp during that closing stretch, but they had created such a significant margin that they were never seriously at risk. They completed their strongest win in a very long time.
Takeaways from a multi-hour party in South Philadelphia, which ended with raucous chants of "WE WANT BOSTON" and "BOSTON SUCKS" from the best crowd the Sixers have played in front of in at least three years:
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has toggled between starting lineups not just all year, but for three seasons. And with Embiid back in the mix, he can finally settle on an unquestioned optimal grouping. Embiid, Maxey and George are the pillars of this, and VJ Edgecombe has been a starter all year long, but Kelly Oubre Jr. at his best is the perfect gap-filler.
Perhaps Oubre is the place to start; going into the game it felt as if Quentin Grimes might overtake him as the Sixers' fifth player in closing lineups but the veteran swingman played an incredible two-way basketball game. He drew three offensive fouls in the first half alone, two of which helped create Jaylen Brown's game-long foul trouble. He was a force on the glass. He thrived as a cutter, playing off of Embiid and picking the perfect spots to pounce.
Oubre was at the center of one of the best two-way sequences of Sixers basketball in years. First, he snuck into the paint and threw down a slam off a ridiculous dime from Embiid:
ARE YOU KIDDING. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/vfW5nzYB0I
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 1, 2026
Immediately afterwards, Oubre swatted a shot at the rim, and as he performed one of his signature celebrations, his teammates emerged in transition, with George making a behind-the-back pass of his own to prompt an Edgecombe slam:
WHAT A SEQUENCE FOR THE SIXERS!
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 1, 2026
📺 Peacock and NBCSN pic.twitter.com/B47TePqrRA
Remember, the Sixers are asking a 20-year-old rookie to handle a significant role in all of this, and Edgecombe has done so beautifully. His Game 6 performance was not his Game 2 scoring explosion, but it was a perfect representation of his season-long ability to go back and forth between wildly different roles from night to night and give the Sixers whatever they need.
And then there were Embiid and Maxey, who were creating terrific looks all night long with their lethal two-man game. Embiid's passing was on another level, helping to compensate for some uncharacteristic misses on good looks. Maxey answered every question the Celtics threw at him; none of their coverages or defenders could contain his combination of speed and shooting. He was quite possibly the best player on the floor, in one of the biggest games of his life.
In each of their losses in this series, the Sixers have been pummeled by Boston on the defensive glass. It is not surprising; Boston is one of the more crash-happy teams in the NBA and the Sixers have struggled to contain those sorts of opponents all season long. But it has not just been a physical mismatch – the Sixers have also failed to play with enough attention to detail on that front.
On Thursday night, with their season once again on the line, the Sixers played with more focus and executed more crisply than ever before. After nearly two weeks of talking ad nauseam about the importance of boxing out, tracking long rebounds and preventing the Celtics from getting head starts on rebound their own misfires, the Sixers finally actually did the job. Their commitment to owning the defensive glass was palpable every time a shot went up.
For much of this series, the Sixers' half-court defense has been outstanding, with a combination of strong individual defense and three-point shooting luck powering them. But because they have given the Celtics so many chances to score, their overall defensive output has been less inspiring.
On Thursday, however, their stops led to... stops. Of Boston's 20 missed shots in the first half, the Sixers grabbed 19. Instead of merely tightening the gap by which they lost the possession battle, the Sixers actually won the possession battle despite giving up muscle to Boston at multiple positions.
Maxey's brilliant night and the Sixers' collective connectivity on both ends of the floor were, of course, significant factors in their win. But the Sixers set a terrific tone for themselves by, through sheer determination, wiping out one of Boston's primary advantages. It was the difference in the game.
Up next: There will be a Game 7 between these teams on Sunday in Boston.
