Game 7 of the playoff series marked the end of the Boston Celtics’ 2025-26 NBA campaign as they suffered yet another defeat against the Philadelphia 76ers. And the loss led noted analyst Stephen A. Smith to call out the Celtics' late-game antics on the court.

The Celtics had ample chances to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals as the teams entered Game 7 with the scores leveled at 3-3. However, with Jayson Tatum sidelined due to an injury, the Celtics missed important shots, which resulted in a 109-100 loss against the 76ers.

After the match, Smith shared an X update congratulating the 76ers. But he also questioned the Celtics' strategy for the last two minutes, stating, "Props to the @sixers, Big-time win. But I’d don’t understand for the life of me how the @celtics spent 6-straight possessions launching 3’s-including 3 from @FCHWPO- [Jaylen Brown's X username] in the last 2 min of a 1-point game."

The veteran analyst questioned, "How? Why? Nobody goes to the hole? Tries to draw a foul? Get to the free-throw line? Oh Well. The @sixers deserve this moment."

Apparently, Smith couldn't understand why the Boston Celtics kept shooting for threes instead of going for the hoop or trying to draw contact to earn free throws. Smith felt that they made things more complicated than needed.

The Boston Celtics missed opportunities did mistakes when it mattered the most.

The Collapse of the Celtics From Dominating the First Half of the Playoffs

The Boston Celtics dominated the first half of the playoffs and established a 3-1 lead over the 76ers in the first four games. Jaylen Brown and Co. needed just one more victory to get the better of their opponents, with 4 wins in the seven-game series.

But shockingly, they lost all three remaining matches, which ended their 2025-26 campaign. Following the Celtics' defeat in Game 7, Brown said, “We knew it was going to be a fight, and we didn’t expect nothing less.”

However, the night of May 2 became a rather embarrassing one for the Celtics as they crashed out of the league after establishing a 3-1 lead in the playoffs for the first time in history. They had also never been defeated by the 76ers in 44 years in the playoffs.

Celtics guard Payton Pritchard reflected on their loss, stating, “It’s disappointing. Very disappointing to be up 3-1 and then end up losing the series, but definitely motivation going into the offseason to get better and to come back stronger.”

Well, only time will tell if the Celtics actually manage to forge a strong comeback. But how far do you agree with Smith's observation that having a different late-game approach could have saved the day for them?

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Written by

Hetal Moleshri

Edited by

Souvik Roy