Sixers Exuding Confidence Before Game 7 Road Matchup With Celtics

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers missed their opportunity to close out the Boston Celtics at home. Everything was set up for them to advance to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2001. They had the 3-2 advantage and being at home was a big advantage.

Instead, they blew their chance at home as the Celtics took the 95-86 win to force Game 7 back at TD Garden on Sunday. Philadelphia shot only 36.1% from the floor and 8-for-34 from deep while James Harden shot just 4-for-16 on the night and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.

With that being said, the Sixers have won two games up in Boston in this series. While it may be inconceivable to think they could get a third one, nobody believed the Atlanta Hawks would win three games at Wells Fargo Center in 2021 when they beat the Sixers.

“We’re confident, just period,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We’ve been confident. We were confident going into tonight, but we didn’t win the game. They were confident, too. It was two teams trying to win. Give them credit, they won the game.”

The Sixers knew before the playoffs began, even before the season began, that they would have to go through the Celtics in order to reach their ultimate goal. This is another opportunity for them to get the job done.

“Training camp coming going into the season, Boston was in front of us,” said Harden. “So somehow, someway, we had to get through this team. They’ve been together for some years. They’re well-coached, they got a lot of depth, everybody knows that. You gotta get through them and Game 7. We’re taking our chances.”

The Sixers have been a resilient group all season. They have shown they can win tough games and they’ve shown they can win games they aren’t supposed to. Game 7 qualifies as a game they shouldn’t win.

“We’ve been in the situation before like vice versa my rookie year so we gotta go out here, we gotta fight, it’s gonna be a war,” added Tyrese Maxey. “One thing I will say that is if I had to go to war on the road, Game 7, Boston, I want to go with this group. I know we got some fighters, I know we got some resilient guys, and you know, I’m ready to get it on.”

The Sixers missed a lot of good looks on Thursday. They know it and they will now have to bounce back in a do-or-die situation up at TD Garden.

“Make or miss league,” said Joel Embiid. “I feel pretty good about it. They made shots. We just got to make sure we’re ready for Sunday. You know, big game for us, Game 7. Who doesn’t love Game 7? So it’s gonna be exciting.”