May 01, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Paul George was outstanding in the Sixers' Game 6 victory over Boston.
PHILADELPHIA – Nobody is excluded from the hysteria that the Sixers' Game 6 trouncing of the Boston Celtics incited on Thursday night.
From Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey putting on a three-man show that Sixers fans have been waiting to see for nearly two years to Andre Drummond and Justin Edwards eating up valuable minutes in brief spot minutes off the bench, it took all eight rotation players for the Sixers to force what will be a deciding Game 7 on Saturday night in Boston. It was probably the best game the Sixers have ever played under head coach Nick Nurse.
"Very good game by us," Nurse said. "...It doesn't really matter that much, though, right? I mean, we've seen games, like – this is just one game, that's one story... [W]e're going to have to really dig in and focus and prepare and get ready for adjustments. We're going to have to give a tremendous effort... It's nice to win a couple in a row and it's nice to play the way we did tonight, but it really does not matter. Each game's its own game."
Certainly, the emphatic nature of a Game 6 win does not give a team a head start on Game 7. But it provides one hell of a blueprint. How did the Sixers dominate the 56-win Celtics? Diving into the highlights and quotes:
In nearly three years, a Sixers crowd had not grown as loud as it did during a tremendous third-quarter sequence. Embiid hit Kelly Oubre Jr. with a behind-the-back dime, Oubre swatted a shot at the rim, George made a behind-the-back pass of his own and VJ Edgecombe threw down a slam:
One of the best sequences in the recent history of Sixers basketball: pic.twitter.com/HH4oNYbKwA
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) May 1, 2026
The Embiid assist to trigger that sequence was far from his only fine moment as a passer; he was playing with force and decisiveness all night long. He notched eight assists, two of them setting up Oubre dunks:
All eight assists from Joel Embiid's terrific night in the Sixers' Game 6 win over Boston: pic.twitter.com/4JmnY3iUuy
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) May 1, 2026
Oubre played one of his very best postseason games as a member of the Sixers, and while his offensive numbers have been lackluster all series, his continued individual effort as a defender – against each of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown – has made that worth it.
"At the end of the day, man, I like white rice," Oubre said, "and I'm just trying to be the white on the rice."
A key factor in Thursday's game: Brown dealt with constant foul trouble, in part because of Oubre's continued selling of Brown's off-arm push. Oubre drew two offensive fouls that sent Celtics starters to the bench with foul trouble, then drew a shooting foul which somehow ended up prompting Embiid to take a page out of Oubre's book:
Kelly Oubre Jr. drew back-to-back offensive fouls in the first half of the Sixers' Game 6 win over Boston, forcing Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta into foul trouble. Then he drew a foul which prompted Joel Embiid to do push-ups: pic.twitter.com/ULu02KY5U2
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) May 1, 2026
What did Oubre think of Embiid's push-ups?
"I wish I would've joined it, but it was his moment," Oubre said. "...He did some acrobatic stuff into the push-ups, too, so 10 out of 10."
Also 10 out of 10: the night the Sixers got out of Paul George, who played one of the strongest defensive games of any Sixers player in recent memory. "He was huge," Maxey said, calling George "consistent" and adding that the nine-time All-Star has been "a great voice, a great leader for all of us."
In addition to giving the Sixers significant and efficient scoring, George handled the Tatum and Brown assignments well; he and Oubre relish guarding wings with each other and have done a terrific job through six games. George's most important stretch of the game came late in the third quarter and early in the final frame; Nurse gave him useful rest midway through the third and he returned to the floor with a vengeance.
"He's been just excellent on defense. Like, the entire game, great. Those two guys are great wings, and he's got to battle them every possession and he is battling. They're scoring, but they are making them really work for it," Nurse said. "And I just feel like he's getting more confident every game at the offensive end... I just kind of feel like he feels like he can score out there. It was good to see him – and you're right, those are big scoreboard-moving buckets. Kind of feel like you need a bucket to settle things down and he makes a few of those."
This was as well-rounded an effort as George can give:
Paul George was brilliant on both ends of the floor in the Sixers' Game 6 win over Boston. His line in the box score – 23 points on 8-17 shooting (5-9 3P), four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal – did not reflect just how impactful he was.
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) May 1, 2026
Full highlights: pic.twitter.com/i48PW68eC1
Every made basket from Tyrese Maxey's 30-point performance in the Sixers' Game 6 win over Boston: pic.twitter.com/EetjqGBb3X
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) May 1, 2026
In the hours after the Sixers went wire-to-wire outplaying the Celtics, a post went viral on social media:
What if the Sixers are the first ever "if they get healthy and peak at the right time" team to get healthy and peak at the right time
— Anderson Hooper (@lesterfreamon) May 1, 2026
It is remarkable to think about the extent to which the perception of this team has changed between Sunday night's Game 4 blowout loss and the multi-hour party that was Game 6. Everybody knows what comes next.
"Two best words in sports," Oubre said. "Game 7."
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