Jayson Tatum drained a three-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to give the Boston Celtics a thrilling 110-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a heavyweight Eastern Conference clash on Saturday.

The 571st meeting between the two NBA rivals lived up to its billing with the lead changing hands five times in an enthralling contest which ebbed and flowed before Tatum's stunning late winner.

Tatum had struggled to find his range throughout the game at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center but finally delivered when it mattered to give Boston victory on a night that saw Sixers talisman Joel Embiid score 41 points in vain.

Embiid almost forced overtime following Tatum's late three-pointer, launching a full-length three-pointer which found the net but was just a fraction too late to beat the buzzer.

"I wasn't playing my best, just wanted to find a way to impact the game at both ends," said Tatum, who finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists after going 7-for-17 from the field.

"It's tough to win in this league. We just showed tonight our resilience and ability to figure it out."

The Celtics had overturned a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to put themselves in a winning position, with Al Horford coming up big with 15 points to help spark the rally.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 26 points on a night when six Boston players finished in double digits.

"It's a hell of a team win," Tatum added. "(Jaylen) was playing well the whole night but guys everywhere were making plays, and that just speaks to the depth of our team and what we're trying to accomplish."

Tatum admitted he had looked away when Embiid launched his desperate late heave that came close to forcing overtime.