Joel Embiid, 76ers Applaud Jayson Tatum’s Game 7 Dominance

When it comes to Game 7 in the NBA Playoffs, everybody has to be on their A-game — especially the stars. During the Game 7 matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics on Sunday, it was a tale of two teams dealing with a different scenario.

For the Sixers, their star duo couldn’t get anything going. The MVP center Joel Embiid checked in for 38 minutes. During that time, he hit on five of his 18 shots and went 5-6 from the free throw line. Overall, Embiid totaled 15 points in Game 7.

As for James Harden, he couldn’t put together another 40-point outing. Struggling from the field, Harden drained just three of his 11 shots. With just two free throws to show for, the standout guard produced nine points in 40 minutes of action.

On the other side, the Celtics got just what they needed to succeed. Jaylen Brown checked in for 40 minutes, putting up 19 shots. He scored 25 points, coming second to his co-star, Jayson Tatum, who broke records.

Through the first half, Tatum had 25 points in 21 minutes of action. He hit on nine of his 16 shots and made six of his eight shots from the free throw line.

“He got it going,” James Harden told reporters after the game. “You can shoot any shots you want. The defense is at your hands. When they’re double-teaming, somebody else is open. They always got five guys on the floor that can attack, that can shoot, that can make a play for each other, so you gotta give them credit.”

Tatum didn’t slow down in the third quarter. Coming out of halftime, the Celtics star single-handily outscored the Sixers 17-10. As a whole, the Celtics put up 33 points to gain a 28-point advantage before the fourth quarter even started.

The Celtics kept Tatum out on the floor for nearly 42 minutes. He wrapped up the game by knocking down 17 of his 28 shots and hitting on 60 percent of his threes. Tatum finished the game with 51 points as the Celtics dominated the Sixers 112-88.

“He was fantastic,” Joel Embiid told reporters. “I told him after the game he was pretty inefficient the whole series, and he chose a great night to have that type of game and make shots. That’s what I told him after the game. When you’re a part of that game and somebody was as hot as he was, and he keeps making shots, it’s tough, but you can’t give up. You gotta keep going, and try to respond, and we didn’t. We just kept missing, and they just kept making everything. So credit to them. They did a fantastic job, and I think they’re the best team in the league, and they got a huge opportunity in front of them.”

Coaching in the NBA since 1999, Doc Rivers has seen his fair share of standout performances in the playoffs. After Sunday’s game, the Sixers' head coach said he’s only seen one performance as dominant as Tatum’s, and it came from one of the greatest players to play the game, LeBron James.

“I’ve seen one, and it was in this building, unfortunately, it was LeBron,” Rivers said. “That’s the only time I’ve seen a performance like that live. I’m glad that I haven’t seen many. Tatum was not only unbelievable, but he played hard defensively and he didn’t take a lot of bad shots. I thought he got them in rhythm, and he played great overall.”

Although Tatum had his struggles throughout the second-round series against the Sixers, he came alive at the right time. After struggling throughout the first three quarters in Game 6, Tatum put the Celtics on his back and led them to a fourth-quarter comeback to force a Game 7.

Then in Game 7, Tatum had the performance of a lifetime, which led the Celtics to victory, eliminating the Sixers from the 2023 NBA Playoffs. While the Sixers were disappointed in the loss, they tipped their cap to the Boston standout for a fantastic performance.