76ers eyeing much more as they move on to second round after Game 7 win over Celtics

BOSTON (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t know how many games, if any, they could count on from Joel Embiid in their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

It turned out to be just enough.

After debuting in Game 4 following appendectomy surgery last month, the former MVP played some of the best playoff basketball of his career over the final four games of the series to lead the 76ers to a 109-100 Game 7 victory over a Celtics team that had looked like a potential NBA title contender.

The No. 7 seed’s reward is an Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the No. 3 seed New York Knicks that begins Monday.

In leading Philadelphia to just its second road Game 7 victory ever and first since 1982 against Boston, Embiid finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to become the first player in NBA history to score 100 points in a playoff series despite missing the first three games.

“Sometimes I’ve been in those positions where I’ve come up short,” Embiid said. “I’ve always said it, you can’t win alone. You need a team. ... The way we’re playing right now, we’re so in sync, offensively, defensively.”

He and Tyrese Maxey (30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists) also became the third duo in league history to each have 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 7.

Maxey said this series demonstrated how he now knows when to be assertive and when to defer to Embiid.

“It’s a growth, because I had to learn when to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive,” Maxey said. “It got a little bit difficult in the middle of this season. I was basically being first option every single night. Then he comes back and I’ve got to find a way to do both. And he does a really good job of just keeping me engaged and keeping me confident and keep me like, ’Hey I need you to do what you do.'"

The 76ers will need everything Embiid gave and more to compete with a Knicks team that plays a much more physical game than Boston.

Nurse said he believes Embiid is up for the challenge. He was limping at times in Game 7 but then got extra treatment while on the bench just to be able to contribute late.

He had reason to be fatigued because even though nine 76ers players touched the floor in Game 7, only six logged double-digit minutes. Embiid played 39 minutes, tying his series high.

“He was doing everything he could to stay in the game,” Nurse said. “Obviously, we ran a lot of things through him and we did just enough.”

Nurse said being able to come out the hostile environment of TD Garden with a victory will serve his team well going forward.

“It’s really good for us to go through that and respond to it,” Nurse said. “It’s going to be like that in the playoffs. You’re going to be in tight games and it’s going to be super loud. ... And you just have to play through it.”

Nurse said he believes the difference was making Boston play halfcourt sets over the final three minutes after the Celtics were able to play in transition for about 12 straight minutes in the third and fourth quarters.

That’s a lesson he hopes can be applied to New York.

“In the last two (games) and portions of this one, we just guarded really well,” Nurse said.

While there was satisfaction in beating Boston, Embiid said they have loftier goals.

“One series. Got more to go,” he said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Philadelphia 76ers' players greet teammate VJ Edgecombe (77) after he hit a third quarter three point shot during Game 7 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (left) and teammate VJ Edgecombe (right) during the second half of Game 7 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum (right) and Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (left) embrace following Philadelphia's victory in Game 7 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid celebrates following his team's victory over the Boston Celtics after the Game 7 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

VIENNA (AP) — Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.

HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide a further updates as verified details come in.

The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.

It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor’s office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”

The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.

Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.

HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand’s baby jars from sale.

The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”

Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.

Pfaffenhofen, Germany-based HiPP said it has been a “victim of extortion,” adding that an unspecified “blackmailer” sent a message to a shared mailbox in the case, prompting it to immediately inform police.

A view of HIPP baby food on a shelf, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stanislav Hodina)