Player grades: Joel Embiid, Sixers eliminate Celtics with Game 7 win

BOSTON -- The Philadelphia 76ers invaded the TD Garden on Saturday night looking to complete an epic comeback. The Sixers trailed the Boston Celtics 3-1, but had found a way to rally and get back into this series. Now, they needed to throw the knockout punch with the Celtics missing Jayson Tatum due to a knee issue.

The Sixers got off to a great start, withstood a Celtics haymaker in the second quarter, and then regained control to eliminate Boston 109-100 with a Game 7 win. For the first time since 1982, the Sixers have eliminated the Celtics in a playoff series and they did so in dramatic fashion following the 3-1 deficit. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, seven assists, and 10 rebounds, and VJ Edgecombe had 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Paul George had 13 points on the night. Here are the player grades following the win: Tyrese Maxey: A-plus Once again, the Celtics just had zero answers for Maxey. Whenever he put his head down and decided to get into the paint, he did so with ease and he created opportunities for both himself and his teammates as he was effective with his own offense as well as with his passing.

Either way, Boston couldn’t slow him down. He really asserted himself in the third quarter when it looked like the Celtics were going to make another run at it. Maxey knocked down two huge 3s and was able to help Embiid restore order a bit on offense.