Winners and Losers from Sixers' Game 3 Loss to Celtics

Someone can usually see Allen Iverson nonchalantly courtside at Sixers games, but Tyrese Maxey forced him onto his feet on Friday night.

Maxey hit a 3-pointer for a one-point lead with less than nine minutes left in Game 3 of the Sixers' first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Iverson shouted and clapped while Maxey mean-mugged. Suddenly, a Philadelphia win seemed possible.

Jayson Tatum begged to differ.

He used an offensive rebound from Derrick White to knock down a triple over Adem Bona, giving the Boston Celtics a six-point edge that decided the contest with 26 seconds remaining.

JAYSON TATUM CLUTCH pic.twitter.com/r7tNEkegql
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 25, 2026

Philadelphia fell to Boston 108-100 on Friday and now trails 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

If the Sixers were to advance, they needed to build on their momentum from Game 2. Instead, they lost the game in the margins by surrendering second-chance points and suffering a three-point shooting disparity.

Though Philadelphia’s season is not over, it now finds itself in a tricky situation pending Joel Embiid’s potential return.

In the meantime, here are the biggest winners and losers from Game 3.

Winner: Tyrese Maxey

Maxey broke even with points and shot attempts, having registered 31 points on 12-of-31 shooting from the field. However, the two-time All-Star’s comfortability as a shot-maker seems to increase with each game.

He tied Tatum and Payton Pritchard for a game-high five triples, most of which came off the dribble. Maxey created space with quick dribble moves to free himself and also found success operating without the ball. Three of the guard’s treys gave the Sixers a temporary lead, reflecting how valuable his shot creation was to their offense.

Maxey has worn a splint on his right pinky since suffering a tendon injury against the Atlanta Hawks on March 7. After Game 3, he told reporters that he expects to keep wearing it for the rest of the postseason.

Maxey returned 10 games after getting injured, but his efficiency has yet to return. He's shooting 43.1% from the field in his last 10 contests.

Maxey has spoken about how the injury has caused him discomfort, which is particularly notable when he's firing from beyond the arc.

Tyrese Maxey and Allen Iverson's reactions say it all! https://t.co/iDHsPbX1nu pic.twitter.com/cThm4RrcBM
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

The two-time All-Star’s ability to self-create to punish Boston’s drop coverage and open advantages for others will be key if Philadelphia is to pull off an upset. Although the Celtics’ stifling defense has gotten the better of him at times, he is gradually returning to form.

Loser: Philadelphia’s perimeter shooting

The Sixers figured to take at least one game in this series due to shooting variance, and they did. They shot 48.7% from downtown to Boston’s 26% en route to a 111-97 Game 2 win.

They experienced what it felt like to be on the opposite end of that Friday.

The Celtics put the Sixers’ defense into a blunder with pick-and-pops and simply ridiculous shot-making. Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s gravity funneled Philadelphia toward the paint, routinely opening chances for others. The Sixers shooting 8.3% worse than Boston (42.6%) evidenced that. Andre Drummond struggled when Boston put him in the action, resulting in Nikola Vučević sinking three triples.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s cold shooting only made things more difficult for Maxey and Paul George (18 points on 7-of-14 shooting). Boston constantly provided help defense on the two and ignored VJ Edgecombe, who misfired on all seven of his 3-point attempts.

Relying on a 20-year-old to swing a playoff game is not a recipe for success, but the Sixers could not find relief elsewhere.

Quentin Grimes posted one shot attempt (a missed three). He's averaging five points in this series, as he's struggling to assert himself offensively and not fetching off-ball chances.

Grimes has struggled to impact the game when he is not the lead scorer this year and his defensive playmaking does not overcompensate. It became more noticeable when Pritchard, coming off the bench for Boston, shot 5-of-10 from deep.

Loser: Philadelphia’s rebounding

Another way that Boston generated threes was through its offensive rebounding. The Celtics hauled in 15 offensive boards for 22 second-chance points to the Sixers’ 13 and 17, respectively.

That discrepancy is not glaring, but marginal differences like that determined the game, especially with Tatum’s game-sealing triple coming off a White offensive board.

The reason was simple: Neemias Queta ate Philadelphia’s lunch. His physicality was too much for Drummond and Bona to handle, and Boston deploying guards like White to dive in for rebounds did not help, either.

The 6'4" Edgecombe led the Sixers with 10 rebounds. Philadelphia cannot afford that when dealing with a physical team like the Celtics.

Nick Nurse did not play Dominick Barlow or Jabari Walker, both of whom averaged more than seven boards per 36 minutes during the regular season. Neither likely would have seen the floor in the crunch time, but the Sixers' refusal to experiment proved to be detrimental on the glass.

“The offensive rebounds. After [the Celtics’] missed threes, ball goes long, we got to track those down,” Bona said. “I think we did a good job of it in Game 2. I think we got a little bit outside of it today.”

#Sixers big ma Adem Bona on the rebounding struggles down the stretch tonight: pic.twitter.com/XTv7It1Gk0
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) April 25, 2026

Winner: The Sixers’ locker room

This was not a bad loss for Philadelphia. It simply stung.

The Sixers, without Embiid, squared up against a fully healthy Celtics team that many believe can come out of the Eastern Conference. Yet Philadelphia stayed resilient and competed from start to finish.

Moral vicotires possess little value in the grand scheme of things, but this was the same Sixers squad that looked disengaged in their 32-point Game 1 trouncing.

Maybe Embiid, who was doubtful for tonight, could return for Game 4 and give Philadelphia the scoring spark it needs. That’s what it came down to Friday.

Tatum and Brown combined for 50 points alongside critical contributions from Boston’s reserves. The Sixers did not have that, but they fought and did not use their short-handedness as an excuse.

“I [couldn’t] care less what [those thinking this series wasn’t going to be close] have to say,” Maxey told reporters after the game. “We know who we are.”

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X and Bluesky for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google