76ers and Pistons deliver sensational first round playoff series comebacks

The Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers are red hot going into the second round of the 2026 National Basketball Association postseason. Both the Pistons and 76ers were down three games to one in their best out of seven series, but stormed back to win three straight games to win four games to three. Detroit eliminated Orlando and Philadelphia eliminated Boston.

The Pistons struggled to score points in the fourth game of the series as Orlando won 94-88. In the last three games, Detroit won 116-109 in game five, 93-79 in game six, and 116-94 in game seven.

On Sunday, five Pistons reached double digits in scoring. Point guard Cade Cunningham of Arlington, Texas had 32 points, power forward Tobias Harris of Islip, New York had 30 points, point guard Daniss Jackson of Dallas, Texas had 16 points off the bench, center Jalen Duren of Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania had 15 points and shooting guard Duncan Robinson of York, Maine had 10 points. Cunningham and Duren had double doubles. Cunningham had 12 assists and Duren had 15 rebounds. The Pistons outscored the Magic 40-27 in the second quarter.

On Saturday, the 76ers beat the Celtics 109-100 with a game seven win, as predicted by yours truly. They also won game five 113-97, and game six by a score of 106-93. The Celtics were clearly missing Jayson Tatum in game seven, who was out with a knee injury.

Four 76ers reached double digits in points on Saturday in Boston. Center Joel Embiid of Yaounde, Cameroon had 34 points, point guard Tyrese Maxey of Dallas, Texas had 30 points, shooting guard VJ Edgecombe of Bimini, Bahamas had 23 points, and power forward Paul George of Palmdale, California had 13 points. Maxey and Embiid had double doubles. Maxey had 11 rebounds and Embiid had 12 rebounds.

In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Philadelphia will play New York and Detroit will play Cleveland. The Cavaliers were forced to a seventh game before eliminating the Toronto Raptors.

In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs will play the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Nuggets were the only higher seed in the West to be eliminated, as they lost in six games to Minnesota.