76ers defeat the Celtics, force a Game 7 in Boston; Tyrese Maxey dominant, Jayson Tatum banged up

You kept waiting for something to change. Nothing ever did. The best team on the basketball court at Xfinity Mobile Arena was the team that was blown out the last time it played there, the team that has been facing elimination since Sunday, the team that looked like a dead team walking for the first five quarters of the series.

That team was the 76ers. Incredibly so. A ridiculous idea a week ago now is the base case.

You’d be hard-pressed to bet against the Celtics in a do-or-die Game 7 at home, but you’d be even harder pressed to bet on them after watching the Sixers dismantle them for six straight quarters. The four most relevant of those quarters unfolded on Thursday night in Game 6 as the Sixers dominated the Celtics in a 106-93 victory to even this best-of-seven series at three game apiece.

Joel Embiid stood in the paint as Matt Walsh tumbled to the floor and fell in the direction of his legs. Embiid went horizontal, diving over Walsh and kicking right into pushups after he hit the floor.

The 76ers had just withstood the Boston Celtics’ last-ditch effort with an all-reserve lineup on the floor. They cruised to a 106-93, wire-to-wire victory of Game 6 to force and improbable winner-take-all matchup in Boston.

The Sixers were led by Paul George’s best performance as a Sixer, Tyrese Maxey’s most prolific first half in his NBA career, and Joel Embiid’s third stellar performance after returning from appendectomy surgery.

Did the Celtics throw the towel in? Or is coach Joe Mazzulla trying to motivate his stars?

Trailing by 20 points, they cleared their bench out of a time with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter.

Jayson Tatum was already on the bench with a wrap on his left leg, but Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Nikola Vučević, Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser were all on the bench.

The 76ers ended the third quarter on an 8-2 run and now lead 82-63 with only 12 minutes left in regulation.

The Sixers dominated the second quarter, 38-26, and they beat up on Boston again in the third, winning the period, 24-14.

For those counting, the vaunted Celtics offense scored only six field goals in the third quarter as the Sixers' defense continues to hound them.

Tyrese Maxey was the story of the first half for the 76ers.

After struggling with efficiency in the last two, he couldn't miss on Thursday. Maxey shot a combined 23-for-59 in Games 2 and 3.

His 21 points on 8-of-15 set the stage for the type of performances we've seen in the past from Maxey, who is best known for his 46-point performance in Game 5 of the Sixers' 2024 first-round series against the Knicks.

The 76ers' defense has carried over to Game 5 and they're making life hard for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

They're stars so Boston's wings will still get numbers, but Tatum (15 points and 10 rebounds) and Brown (13 points) have certainly gotten theirs through two quarters.

But the Sixers have made them work for it all. That effort has appeared most effective against Brown, whose game has come under fire as online analyst point out his tendency to use an off arm to push away defenders and get open looks.

The 76ers came out hot to start Game 6, building up an early 11-4 lead on the play of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.

Of course, this will be a game of runs and Boston went on their own to knot things at 15-14, with the Sixers holding a small lead.

The Celtics continued to have the hot hand to end the quarter, holding a 23-20 lead. They were paced by Jayson Tatum, who has nine points.

A big missed opportunity.

Hard to call the first quarter anything else for the Sixers, who trail 23-20 despite playing some excellent defense against a Celtics team that looked completely out of sync.

Joel Embiid posted up Neeimias Queta and scored on the first possession of the game but the Sixers haven’t been able to repeat that much.

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the Western Conference's worst teams last season and were expected to finish in a similar position this season.

And, somehow, things got worse prior to the season when their head coach, Chauncey Billups, was enthralled in a federal gambling scandal that could still result in jail time.

Tiago Splitter, once an integral part of the San Antonio Spurs' 2014 title team, took over that franchise. He somehow managed to get them to the NBA Play-In Tournament, where they earned a postseason berth and pushed a new Spurs team with title aspirations to five games.

While the Sixers pulled off the improbable to win Tuesday in Boston and force a Game 6 in Philadelphia tonight, they'll need a lot more to advance past the Celtics. A win would send the series back to Boston for a Game 7, and if that happens, the Sixers would have a chance at doing something they've never done before.

The Sixers are 0-18 all-time after going down 3-1 in a playoff series. In NBA history, only 36 teams have gone on to force a Game 7 after going down 3-1, and just 13 have ever come back to win the series.

Meanwhile, the Celtics are a prefect 32-0 when leading a playoff series 3-1.

The 76ers' black throwback jerseys came back with a lot of fanfare.

The look and court had been discussed for years. In an effort to honor the 2001 NBA Finals team, the franchise finally made good on a rumored return.

But then the NBA playoffs started and the Sixers' only playoff wins came in their home whites, which were ironically worn in Boston both times. To cover the losses, they wore blue in Game 1, and black in Game 3 and 4.

If you don't know what Bricken for Chicken is, you're about to find out.

During the second half of home Sixers game, the team runs a promotion with Chick-fil-A where fans — at home and in the arena — get free chicken nuggets when an opposing player misses two consecutive free throws. And when that happens, the building can get ... loud.

So loud, in fact, that some attributed the team's 2024 Play-In Tournament victory to the promotion, as it appeared to help spark a second-half run. A previous version of the promotion involving a free Wendy's Frosty even led to former Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas being ejected from a game.

Paul George has faded to the background at times during his tenure with the 76ers.

Billed as a Big Three with George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers stars have rarely been available together. And when they have, the trio has not always performed well. Typically, George would become the casualty in that occasion.

But that has not been the case in this best-of-seven, first-round series. George has continued a run of stellar performances since returning from a 25-game suspension, when he produced 21 points per game, including 28 points against the Bulls in his return and 39 points against the Wizards during the Sixers' playoff push.

In order to keep their season alive, the Sixers must do something that has been a peculiar challenge all season: win at home.

The Sixers have lost both home games of this first-round series against the Celtics, including a 32-point blowout in Sunday’s Game 4 that All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey called a “disgrace” and “unacceptable.” Celtics fans took over Xfinity Mobile Arena down the stretch of that game. They chanted “We want Boston!” to mock Sixers fans who yelled that phrase as they finished off their Play-In Tournament win against the Orlando Magic to advance to this first-round series.

“Our fans deserve a win,” Maxey said after Tuesday’s Game 5. “… So I plan on making sure my teammates, we got out there and we fight and we scratch and we claw and we try and get another W.”

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has historically been tough on Philly athletes.

That includes 76ers star Joel Embiid, who has been chronically injured throughout his career. But Embiid has been impressive when available, and Smith asked for compassion for Embiid because of that fact.

"I'm going to ask for compassion, the word compassion when it comes to Joel Embiid," Smith, a former Inquirer columnist, said. "... When Joel Embiid is healthy, before [Victor] Wembenyana came along at 7-foot-5, we looked at Joel Embiid healthy and said this is one of the best big men ever."

The Sixers-Celtics series will end one way or another this week – hopefully Saturday night in Boston if Philly forces a Game 7.

The winner of the series will face either the New York Knicks or Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs. Here's where things stand in the Eastern Conference:

Knicks lead the Hawks 3-2

It looked a lot like they imagined it would, once upon a time.

Joel Embiid was scoring buckets and drawing crowds.

Tyrese Maxey was zigging and zagging through the resulting alleyways.

A lot of folks thought the 76ers had no chance against the Boston Celtics following their Game 4 loss.

Game 5's upset might not have changed many minds, but at least one Hall of Famer regrets sticking a fork in Philly's chances.

"I have to apologize to the Philadelphia 76ers for thinking the Series was over after Game 4," former Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson wrote on social media following the game, praising Joel Embiid for his "dominant" play a few weeks removed from major surgery.

The dancing dial for the 76ers continues, as Game 6 in South Philly jumps back to Peacock, NBC's subscription streaming service.

Thankfully, NBC is also simulcasting the game on the recently-relaunched NBC Sports Network, which is available on Xfinity and YouTubeTV, but not Verizon Fios TV.

Calling the game will be Noah Eagle, who will be joined by analysts Grant Hill and Robbie Hummel. Ashley ShahAhmadi will report from Xfinity Mobile Arena.