76ers vs Celtics Game 7, Live score updates: Boston rolling

That's the new record for the most Game 7 points in NBA history: Jayson Tatum – 51 on the 76ers.

With Boston's impending win, it's now official: the 2023 conference finals will be the exact same as the 2020 conference finals in the bubble. Miami vs. Boston on one side. Lakers vs. Denver on the other.

And that's 51. Jayson Tatum hits a 3 over Joel Embiid with seven and a half minutes left to eclipse the big five-oh. Celtics by 26. Counting the last quarter of Game 6, Tatum has now scored 67 points in his last four-and-a half quarters. What a response.

What happens when you make playoffs 5+ years in a row and can't make conference finals?

Playoff Purgatory. 76ers are still in it.

That was the Sixers’ nightmare quarter, a 33-10 Boston romp. They can’t make a 3-pointer while the Celtics rain fire on the other end, James Harden and Joel Embiid go out with a whimper and Jayson Tatum plays a flawless game in the biggest moment. The Sixers will now face an offseason full of uncertainty (and likely, change), regretting the massive opportunity they had to get over the hump in Game 6.

Another elite defensive game from Al Horford, who not only has been locking up Embiid all over the court and forcing multiple turnovers, but he has been great at rotating to the weak side too when the Celtics double.

Outside of Jayson Tatum's heater, the biggest story of this game is Boston's pick-and-roll defense on James Harden and Joel Embiid. Beginning in Game 6, the Celtics used an unconventional scheme where Al Horford stuck to Embiid instead of helping on Harden, with Robert Williams III flying off PJ Tucker in the corner to pick up the ball. The Celtics fine-tuned that approach over the course of the game, with Harden's initial defender peeling off to the corner to pick up Tucker or whichever 76er was there while that man helped on the drive. They also shifted the weak side elbow defender down into the gap between Tucker and the elbow to make Tucker hesitate on the read off the catch. that really took the wind out of Philly's offense.

Early on, the 76ers appeared to solve that problem in Game 7 by having Harden drive hard, force help and kick to Tucker or another open shooter quickly. But in problem-solving in this manner, the 76ers were actually playing into Boston's hands. Harden refused to drive to finish, while Embiid didn't get the ball in his preferred office around the elbow area because Horford stuck closely to him.

The result so far? A combined 7-24 from the field, six turnover performance from Harden and Embiid, the battery for the best pick-and-roll in the NBA this season, through two and a half quarters.

Jayson Tatum is hunting the MVP and putting him on an island right now. Already up to 30 points in what is shaping up to be one of the signature games of his career if it keeps going this way.

Joel Embiid offered no resistance on the last two switches onto Jayson Tatum. One layup, one stepback 3. Thirty already for Tatum and we're just a few minutes into the third quarter. Boston leads by 7. More concerning: Embiid is already trotting back as if he's exhausted.

This has kept this game going back and forth as they keep countering each other’s adjustments. The Sixers did a great job taking advantage of Rob Williams’ spacing on both ends of the floor to get PJ Tucker open 3s and close off the lanes on the defensive end so the Celtics kept getting blocked on tough layup attempts. Then Joe Mazzulla figured out how to live in the gaps on defense to take away the weak-side 3s and start pushing in transition. Al Horford hitting shots has been massive for Boston keeping up with Tucker stepping up, but this game has been all Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on offense for Boston.

It’s a bit reductive, but Jayson Tatum was awesome and Joel Embiid and James Harden were not. The Sixers should feel decent about going into halftime only down three with that discrepancy, if they can get their stars going in the second half.

One of the Celtics coaches told me before the game Jayson Tatum was going for 50 tonight. He’s halfway there at halftime.

You get the sense Boston is trying to throw a knockout punch, led by Jayson Tatum and his 18 first-half points. But the 76ers are hanging around despite a brutal game from James Harden and a mediocre one from Joel Embiid. Credit Tyrese Maxey for making a couple big plays to keep them in front.

It appeared Georges Niang grabbed Jaylen Brown's leg from the Sixers' bench as Boston's star was trying to run down the floor. Instead of continuing on, Brown turned to the Sixers' bench and picked up a technical foul. But now the refs are reviewing the action, and you have to think this call will change

Georges Niang grabs Jaylen Brown and keeps him from running down the court midway through the second quarter of Game 7.

Both Brown and Niang were given technical fouls, Niang for the grab and Brown for taunting the Sixers bench after. pic.twitter.com/PtjQCpwCbd

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 14, 2023

Not only was that a major swing for the Celtics, James Harden now has three flagrant foul points for the playoffs. If the Sixers are fortunate to advance here, one more flagrant would cause him to be suspended for the next game.

Jaylen Brown took a punch to the face in mid-air trying to defend a James Harden fast break early in the second quarter and was down in pain for several minutes. By the time he was able to walk back to the bench, the officials were determining Harden committed a flagrant penalty one.

Brown has been playing with a mask on most of this season, but ditched it earlier in the game and has gone without it several times in the playoffs so far., After shaking it off, they stuffed some tissue in his nose, he went out and knocked down the free throws, then picked off a pass to go coast to coast and bring the Celtics back in the game.

He's 4 of 6 from the field with 11 points in the first quarter. Even got the rebound that got him that corner 3 on the sideline out of bounds play.

The whole point of this Celtics look with Al Horford at the 5 is to pull Joel Embiid away from the basket. So it's not a good sign that Embiid has already swatted Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on drives to the basket. A 76ers adjustment? A downstream effect of Horford going ice cold from 3? A bit of both. Either way, it's neutering the Celtics' biggest offensive strength.

Melton already with a bunch of winning plays. The tip in. Forced a miss by Smart in transition. And the block on White there at the end of the shot clock.

Glass half empty for the 76ers: James Harden and Joel Embiid have passed up way too many chances to score inside.

Glass half full for the 76ers: James Harden and Joel Embiid have passed up way too many chances to score inside, and they're still ahead by 3.