Philadelphia earned the eighth seed in the 2012 NBA playoffs, facing the first-seeded Bulls. Philadelphia improved from their struggles in the second half of the regular season, beating Chicago 4–2 to win their first series since 2003. This was the fifth time in NBA history that an eight seed has beaten a one seed. They then faced their rival, the Boston Celtics, in the second round, and were eliminated 4–3. The Sixers once again faced criticism for their lack of a true scorer, as they were not able to keep pace with the Celtics' scoring. They were, however, given credit for winning the regular-season series against Boston and forcing the playoff series to seven games against the Celtics, who had won the last four division championships.