Joel Embiid quipped that he was "tired of losing" to the Boston Celtics after helping the Philadelphia 76ers extend their playoff series to a deciding Game 7. 

Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points and Paul George chipped in with 23 of his own as the Sixers emerged 106-93 victors to level things up after coming back from a 3-1 deficit. 

Philadelphia have endured recent heartache against the Celtics, with Boston winning each of their last six playoff meetings in the postseason. 

The last time the 76ers eliminated the Celtics in the postseason was in 1982, and no player has experienced more pain than Embiid, who has been beaten three times by Boston.

Embiid's first taste of defeat came in Game 5 of the 2018 conference semi-finals, which was followed by a first-round sweep in 2020 and in 2023 in a second-round series that went the distance after Boston came from behind to win Game 6 in Philadelphia. 

No team has been down 3-1 as many times as Philadelphia without coming back to win a series. They have lost all 18 times, though Embiid was optimistic this time around. 

"I've been playing these guys for so long," Embiid said when referring to the Celtics. "I'm tired of losing to them. So we have a chance to accomplish something special.

"They're a great team. When you look at everything you have, that's a super team, so we just got to go with the mindset we've had for the last two games."

Game 7. Saturday. @cryptocom pic.twitter.com/avM9xNTrNG

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 1, 2026

The only team in NBA history to win a playoff series after losing two games by 30-plus points was the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 against the St. Louis Hawks.

"I think we played really well. I think that it doesn't really matter that much, though," 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. "I mean, we've seen games like this.

"This is just one game. That's one story. And you're going to go back, and it's just not going to flip a switch and happen again.  

"We're going to have to really, really dig in and focus and prepare and get ready for adjustments, and 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 win, play the way we did tonight, but it really does not matter. Each game's its own game."

Embiid in particular impressed on his early return from an appendectomy, scoring 19 points along with shooting 6-for-18, including 1-for-5 from 3, and is now 2-for-16 from 3-point range in the three games he has played in this series. 

"You look at all the shots I'm getting, everything is short, in and out," Embiid said. "At some point I'm about to have an extremely efficient night. Hopefully it's the next game."