76ers vs. Celtics: Past series results, memorable moments from one of NBA's oldest, most contentious rivalries

Boston and Philadelphia have met in the postseason more than any other two teams

The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers is one of the NBA's oldest and most revered, as it dates back to the Sixers' inception in 1963. The Sixers and Celtics have played the most playoff series against each other out of any two teams in league history and another chapter will be added this year. After taking care of their respective opponents in the first round, the Celtics and Sixers are set to face off against each other in the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

This will be the third time that the Celtics face off against Philly during the Jayson Tatum era, and similarly, the third time that the Sixers are squaring off against Boston during the Joel Embiid era. Boston won the previous two series with a tally of eight wins to one. 

When asked about the battles between Boston and Philadelphia back in 2018, Embiid famously said: "This is not a rivalry... They always kick our ass." Not much has changed since then, though Embiid will look to flip that narrative this time around while Tatum and the C's will look to extend the streak. 

Before the two teams add another installment to their shared history, here's a look back at the results of the past series between the squads, as well as a few extremely memorable moments. 

Past series results

Since the Sixers were officially founded in 1963, the two teams have squared off in the postseason fourteen different times. The most recent meeting prior to this season was in the first round in the Orlando bubble in 2020. Boston won that series 4-0. In fact, Boston has won the past five postseason series between the two teams. The last time the Sixers bested the Celtics in a playoff series was in 1982. Overall, the Celtics have come out victorious in 10 of the 14 series. Here's a look at the results of all of those series: 

• 2020: Boston 4, Philadelphia 0 (First round)
• 2018: Boston 4, Philadelphia 1 (East semis) 
• 2012: Boston 4, Philadelphia 3 (East semis)
• 2002: Boston 3, Philadelphia 2 (First round) 
• 1985: Boston, 4, Philadelphia 1 (East finals)
• 1982: Philadelphia 4, Boston 3 (East finals)
• 1981: Boston 4, Philadelphia 3 (East finals)
• 1980: Philadelphia 4, Boston 1 (East finals)
• 1977: Philadelphia 4, Boston 3 (East semis)
• 1969: Boston 4, Philadelphia 1 (East semis)
• 1968: Boston 4, Philadelphia 3 (East finals) 
• 1967: Philadelphia 4, Boston 1 (East finals) 
• 1966: Boston 4, Philadelphia 1 (East finals) 
• 1965: Boston 4, Philadelphia 3 (East finals) 

Memorable moments 

The Confetti game -- May 5, 2018

Talk about an all-time gaffe. After dropping the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston, the Sixers returned home desperate for a win. Fast forward to the closing seconds of the fourth quarter. With Philadelphia trailing by two, 89-87, Sixers forward Marco Belinelli connected on a corner shot off of an out-of-bounds play in order to tie the game up at 89 apiece and send it to overtime. The problem was that many in the arena, including the confetti cannon operator, thought that Belinelli's shot was a triple that gave the Sixers the win at the buzzer. Suddenly confetti was raining from the sky in the Wells Fargo Center -- a lot of it. 

The obvious issue here is that the game, in fact, wasn't over, but instead headed to overtime. A delay was necessary to clean up all of the premature confetti, and then the Celtics went on to win the game in overtime, 101-98, to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. Some people believe in jinxes, others don't, but as someone who was in attendance at this game, it certainly felt like the confetti jinxed the Sixers. The Celtics went on to win the series 4-1. 

The "Boston Strangler" goes off -- May 16, 1982

Andrew Toney was dubbed "The Boston Strangler" for the success he had against the Celtics over the course of his career, but his best performance against Boston came in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in 1982. Toney played 42 minutes in the contest and tallied a playoff career-high 39 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds while shooting 66% from the field. 

Toney's production helped the Sixers secure a 119-94 victory in the game, and they went on to win the series 4-3 to advance to the NBA Finals. The Sixers then lost in the Finals in six games to the Lakers. 

"Havlicek stole the ball" -- April 15, 1965

The Sixers and Celtics met in the Eastern Conference finals in 1965, and the series went the distance. With five seconds remaining in Game 7, the Celtics held a 110-109 lead, but the Sixers had the ball with an opportunity to pull out a win and move on to the NBA Finals. The Celtics had other plans though. Boston forward John Havlicek was able to deflect Philadelphia's inbounds pass and it was recovered by Sam Jones, who ran the clock out to secure a Boston victory. 

The play was immortalized by Celtics radio broadcaster Johnny Most, who excitedly exclaimed "Havlicek stole the ball!" as the event unfolded live. 

The Celtics went on to take down the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Finals to win their seventh consecutive championship. As a result, Havlicek's play is remembered as one of the most iconic in NBA postseason history, 

Fight between Larry Bird and Julius Erving -- Nov. 9, 1984

This event didn't occur during the postseason, but it was too iconic not to include here. Two of the biggest stars in the NBA -- Celtics forward Larry Bird and Sixers forward Julius Erving -- were doing some jawing over the course of the contest, and ultimately the talking led to fisticuffs with the two players going at each other's throats, literally. 

The scuffle led to one of the coolest NBA photos ever taken: 

I have that picture framed in my office, and I'm sure I'm far from the only one. Hopefully, this year's series between Boston and Philadelphia will provide us with some more memorable moments.