Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers have advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, beating a Jayson Tatum-less Boston 109-100 to complete only the NBA's 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

Embiid finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on Saturday (Sunday AEST). Tyrese Maxey added 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while V.J. Edgecombe had 23 points and Paul George 13.

Philadelphia, the No.7 seeds, will visit No.3 New York on Monday night in Game 1 of the second round.

The Sixers franchise, including their time as Syracuse Nationals, improved to 2-10 in road Game 7s. Their only other win came in 1982 at the Boston Garden.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 33 points and nine rebounds. Derrick White had 26 points, including five three-pointers, while Neemias Queta finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Boston struggled from outside for the third straight game, finishing 13 of 49.

The second-seeded Celtics made their earliest exit from the playoffs since the 2020-21 season, falling to 32-1 when leading a series 3-1.

They played without Tatum after he was ruled out about 90 minutes before tip-off with left knee stiffness.

Philadelphia led for all but 31 seconds in the game, increasing a five-point halftime edge to 18 points in the third quarter.

It was down to 13 at the start of the fourth and Boston opened the period on a 16-4 run to pull within 92-91.

The 76ers were leading 101-98 when Maxey got free for a layup with 1:15 remaining. The Celtics missed their next four shots and the Sixers pushed it to 105-98 on a pair of Maxey free throws.