It takes a true champ to eat his words. And Earvin “Magic” Johnson did it gracefully. The Lakers legend and sworn enemy of the Boston faithful has officially retracted his early dismissal of the Philadelphia 76ers following Philadelphia’s resilient 113-97 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Historically, Magic Johnson has always seen the Celtics the one team to beat. He was sure that Larry Bird’s team was going to claim the 2026 first round series early. How wrong he was. But he was glad to be.
Johnson took to social media to offer a formal apology to Philly for counting out the seventh seed. The win, which trimmed Boston’s series lead to 3-2, was fueled by a vintage performance from Joel Embiid, who seems to have finally found his rhythm after a harrowing medical layoff.
“I have to apologize to the Philadelphia 76ers for thinking the Series was over after Game 4,” Johnson posted on X. The 5x NBA champion cited Philadelphia’s balanced attack and defensive grit as the primary reasons for his change of heart. “Tonight, the 76ers beat the Celtics and were led by the dominant inside play of Joel Embiid – he had 33 points and 8 assists! He had plenty of help from Tyrese Maxey’s 25 points, Paul George’s 16 points and Quentin Grimes’ 18 points off the bench which included four 3’s! Grimes also played solid on the defensive end which helped the 76ers beat the Celtics 113-97!”
Magic also lauded the tactical game of Nick Nurse, noting “My hat goes off to 76ers Coach Nick Nurse who had an awesome game plan and had his team believing that they could beat the Celtics on the road in Boston!”
The Lakers legend’s public pivot comes just 48 hours after Johnson declared the series essentially finished following Boston’s 128-96 blowout in Game 4. At that time, Johnson called the Celtics’ performance “the best all-around team performance in the NBA Playoffs so far,” praising Joe Mazzulla’s squad for their 24 made three-pointers and Payton Pritchard’s 32-point explosion.
However, the 76ers’ refusal to fold on the road has completely altered the momentum of the series as it heads back to Philadelphia.
The most significant factor in Philadelphia’s survival has been the health and conditioning of Joel Embiid. The Process made a surprise return for Game 4 just 17 days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on April 9. While his initial return on Sunday fell flat according to critics, despite recording 26 points and 10 rebounds in a 32-point loss, Embiid looked far more mobile and commanding in Tuesday’s Game 5.
Despite a brief scare where he headed to the locker room with a potential knee issue in the third quarter, Embiid returned to the floor to orchestrate a 12-0 run. He managed to extend a tight three-point lead into a comfortable double-digit victory and kept the Sixers in the running.
Embiid’s 33 points and 8 assists served as the perfect counter to Jayson Tatum, who scored 24 points and 16 rebounds but struggled to find his shooting rhythm. Tatum most prominently faltered to the pressure Quentin Grimes put on him. He limited the Celtics to 97 despite them averaging over 120 in the last two contests. Which is why the 25-year-old guard got a special shoutout from Magic for his “solid” defense.
The Celtics now find themselves in a precarious position despite Jayson Tatum’s return from his own regular-season Achilles recovery. While Boston president Brad Stevens was named NBA Executive of the Year earlier Tuesday, the accolades were overshadowed by a Philly squad that seems to have found a defensive blueprint to contain Boston’s perimeter shooting.
With Game 6 set for Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center, the 76ers are looking to force a deciding Game 7 and prove Magic Johnson’s original prediction entirely wrong.
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