BOSTON -- It took 44 years, but the Philadelphia 76ers have finally beaten the Boston Celtics in a playoff series.
Behind arguably the best playoff performance of Joel Embiid's career, the 76ers claimed a heart-stopping 109-100 victory in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Philadelphia also became the 14th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.
Before Saturday's win, the 76ers had gone an NBA-record 0-18 when trailing 3-1 in a series. Boston was 32-0 when holding a 3-1 series lead.
Philadelphia beat Boston in the playoffs for the first time since 1982, snapping a streak of six consecutive series losses -- the last three of which included Embiid.
But behind Embiid's 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Tyrese Maxey's 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists -- making them the first teammates in NBA history to each have at least 30-10-5 in a Game 7 -- the 76ers finally broke through against their rivals.