Joel Embiid and the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers forced a Game 7 in their first-round playoff series against the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics, notching a 106-93 victory in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Now, the series heads back to Boston for a win-or-go-home game at the TD Garden.
During Embiid’s media availability after Game 6, a reporter pointed out the fact that the 76ers haven’t sent the Celtics home in a postseason series in 44 years.
Embiid had plenty of battles with the Celtics through his decade-long career in Philadelphia. The superstar center is 0-3 in playoff matchups against the Eastern Conference rival.
“I’ve been playing these guys for so long,” Embiid said. “I’m tired of losing to them. We have a chance to accomplish something special.”
Embiid called the Celtics a “super team,” and knows his team has a tall task ahead in Game 7 on the road.
“We’ve just got to go in there with the same mindset we’ve had for the last two games,” he added. “It’s a tough environment, but we’ve won two games over there.”
The 76ers held off the Celtics in back-to-back elimination games in Game 5 and Game 6. Now, the team is looking for its third consecutive win to complete the 3-1 series comeback.
Embiid returned to action for Philadelphia in Game 4 after missing more than two weeks as he recovered from an appendectomy. He averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds and 7.3 assists through his three games against Boston.
Game 7 will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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