Jayson Tatum Decision Made Hours Before Celtics-76ers Game 7

The top two seeds in the Eastern Conference are facing tough challenges in the first round.

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The No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons will host the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic on Sunday in Game 7. The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics are set to take on the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night at TD Garden.

The status of star forward Jayson Tatum was unknown before Saturday’s contest. He was listed as being questionable to play with left knee stiffness after giving the Celtics 17 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 29 minutes in a 106-93 loss to the 76ers in Game 6 on Thursday.

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Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Boston made the decision to rule out Tatum just hours before Saturday night’s tipoff.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum was day-to-day with the injury.

“He just came in today with knee discomfort,” Mazzulla told reporters of Tatum during his pregame news conference. “And we decided, the medical staff and myself, that he would not play.”

Mazzulla did not specify who would take Tatum’s place in the starting lineup.

Whoever steps into Tatum’s role has huge footsteps to fill against the 76ers in Game 7. Tatum, a six-time All-Star, is not replaceable for a Celtics team that had ambitions of making the NBA Finals this spring.

Tatum averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists during the regular season. He’ll be a big miss for Game 7, which has bragging rights in a heated NBA rivalry between the Celtics and 76ers in addition to being a win-or-go-home matchup for the No. 2 seed.

Boston took a 3-1 lead in Game 4 on Sunday, but the 76ers fought to make a comeback in the series by beating the Celtics 113-97 in Boston on Tuesday before dominating again in Game 6.

The 76ers have looked like the better team in the last two games of the series. Now, without Tatum, the Celtics will look to make significant defensive adjustments to stop the suddenly hot 76ers from pulling a monumental NBA upset.

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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 3:24 PM.