It will be the Philadelphia 76ers against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, courtesy of the 14th 3-1 comeback in NBA playoffs history.

The Sixers won their third straight elimination game with a 109-100 victory in Game 7 on Saturday, eliminating a Boston Celtics team that was missing star Jayson Tatum due to knee stiffness. It wasn’t easy, just like the rest of this series.

It is both the Sixers’ first 3-1 comeback in franchise history, in their 19th try, and the Celtics first 3-1 collapse in franchise history. Philadelphia is also the first No. 7 seed to beat a No. 2 seed in the East since the first round was expanded to best-of-seven in 2003.

Joel Embiid led the way in Game 7 wiuth 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 turnover, while Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 turnover. They are the third duo to ever post dual 30-point, 10-rebound Game 7s on the road. The previous two: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2002.

The Sixers-Knicks series begins on Monday.

This. article wîll be updated with more information.

There might have been some reasons for concern for the Lakers in a series they once led 3-0. None of them was apparent Friday.

With a 98-78 victory in Game 6, the Lakers finished off the Houston Rockets for their first playoff series win in three years. Their reward will be a date with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

That series will start Tuesday. The San Antonio Spurs will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the other West semifinal.

The Lakers were coming off two straight losses at the hands of the Rockets, pushing them halfway to an unprecedented collapse. Game 4 was a one-sided defeat on the road, Game 5 was close but no victory cigar. Had it not been for the Rockets’ galling collapse in Game 3, Los Angeles would have been the ones facing elimination Friday.

Game 6 had no such headache. The Lakers took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and never let it get back down to single digits. They still didn’t have their usual offense with Luka Dončić still out, but LeBron James kept doing what he’s done all series: turn back the clock.

The NBA’s all-time scoring leader finished with 28 points on 10-of-25 shooting, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 turnovers, while Dončić had his fun from the bench.

Rui Hachimura (21 points) and Austin Reaves (15) were the only other Lakers players to score in double digits, but Deandre Ayton did have a huge game on the boards with 7 points and 16 rebounds.

The Lakers were short-handed throughout this series, but the Rockets felt the absence of Kevin Durant — still out with an ankle injury — even more. They shot 31.5% before the Lakers pulled their starters and should be very grateful to the Orlando Magic for drawing away attention from their offensive woes.

Lakers hoping to reverse recent history vs. Thunder

Reaching the second round of the playoffs despite missing their MVP candidate in Dončić for the entire series and their No. 2 player by points per game in Reaves for the first four games is an impressive achievement for the Lakers, even given the absence of Durant for Houston.

The next round will be a different beast.

The 2025-26 Rockets had their limitations at the best of times. The Thunder have lost a single game with their actual starters since March 1. And they’ve steamrolled the Lakers at every opportunity.

Here are the Lakers’ four games against the Rockets this season.

• Nov. 12: 121-92 Thunder

• Feb. 9: 119-110 Thunder

• April 2: 139-96 Thunder

• April 7: 123-87 Thunder

The Lakers were missing at least one member of their big three for at least a part of each game, but that’s still an 0-4 record against the defending champions, with an average margin of victory of 29.3 points.

There’s no telling when Dončić will return from his Grade 2 hamstring strain, but OKC was still an unsolvable problem for the Lakers with him on the court. If the Lakers are going to reach the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2023, they are going to need the biggest upset of the playoffs.

It happened again for the Toronto Raptors.

With seconds remaining in an elimination game, the Raptors gave the ball to their small forward and watched him shoot a game-winning jumper that bounced multiple feet in the air before settling into the basket and setting off the Scotiabank Arena crowd.

We just described how the R.J. Barrett beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday to force a Game 7, and also how Kawhi Leonard stunned the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals.

Here’s Barrett:

And here’s Leonard:

It took about four seconds for a multitude of NBA fans to realize how loudly history had just echoed through Canada. At least one NBA player was also quite aware:

Which was the better shot, though? Let’s do a quick comparison.

In the context of what round the Raptors were in, the 2019 team was a round ahead of where the 2026 team currently is. Point Leonard.

In the context of the series, Leonard made his in a Game 7 and Barrett made his in a Game 6. Leonard.

In the context of the game, Barrett made his in overtime and Leonard made his in the fourth quarter. Barrett.

The clock? Leonard’s was a true buzzer-beater while Barrett left 1.2 seconds on the clock. Leonard.

The score? the 2019 Raptors were tied while the 2026 team was down a point, needing a basket just to survive the game. Barrett.

The shot location? Barrett made his from well beyond the arc, while Leonard had a foot on the line in the corner. Barrett.

The shot circumstance? Barrett was left open at the perimeter and made his over a late-arriving Evan Mobley, while Leonard made his shot on the run with defenders all over him. Leonard.

The bounce? Barrett’s clearly went higher, nearly reaching level with the top of the shot clock. Barrett.

The hangtime? Leonard’s didn’t jump as high, but the multiple bounces it took before going in were high drama. Leonard.

Originality? We’ve got to give Leonard some credit for being first. Leonard.

So through that highly scientific process, we’re giving Leonard’s shot the win by a score of 6-4. There’s also the benefit of Leonard’s shot being a bridge for the Raptors to win their first title (we’ll see if this year’s roster can did the same). On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine Barrett ever having as awkward a relationship with the Raptors as Leonard does now.

Obviously, there’s no point to giving either shot the crown. The Raptors will be thankful that either one of them landed; for both to hit is a miracle of physics and hope.

This year’s Raptors are now headed to Cleveland for a Game 7 with momentum on their side. That game tips off Sunday at a time TBD.