3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following Game 7 elimination of Celtics

BOSTON -- The Philadelphia 76ers finally broke through against the Boston Celtics . Despite staring elimination in the face for three straight games along with a lot of history that says they should lose Game 7 on the road on Saturday, the Sixers instead ignored all of it and earned a 109-100 win to eliminate the Celtics in a playoff series for the first time since 1982.

Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, seven assists, and 10 rebounds, and VJ Edgecombe had 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Paul George had 13 points on the night.

Here are the three biggest takeaways following a Game 7 win over the Celtics:

Embiid fights through adversity

Embiid's final stat line was gaudy, but the big fella had to fight through a lot of aches and pains to be out there on the floor. He was being stretched out on the bench and checked out by the trainers every timeout so he could finish the game and contribute the way he did. Embiid played 39 minutes, shot 12-for-26, and was 9-for-11 from the foul line while also grabbing the rebounds and making plays with his passing. When considering this was only his fourth game back following the time off from the appendectomy and he's battling all other sorts of ailments, it was an impressive showing.

Coach Nick Nurse stated:

"Yeah, I mean, I think he’s, again, the amount of games is still pretty low, right? These are super intense, pretty quick comebacks, every other day, and get lucky enough to get those three-day breaks come at the start, but yeah. He was doing everything he could to stay in the game, and obviously, we ran a lot of stuff through him. He did just enough. We still think he’s got a lot of shots that can go in, but I think he’s directing traffic and then making good passes and all that stuff, and giving us a focal point to play through, which is excellent. I am most impressed with his rebounding, man. He’s defensive rebounding, he’s blocking out, he’s really done a good job in the last couple games with that."

Edgecombe impresses again

Tyrese Maxey always has a phrase when asked about his teammates. "He's really good at basketball." It might just be that simple for Edgecombe. The rookie in his first Game 7 did it all. He set the tone in the first quarter when he defended Celtics star Jaylen Brown while also scoring nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. The No. 3 overall pick continues to make a big name for himself in these moments and the Sixers couldn't be happier. They have continued to push him to shoot the ball and be aggressive every chance he gets. He obliged in the first quarter as he took the wind out of the sails of the Celtics early.

"I was open," Edgecombe laughed after the win. "I had to shoot the ball. The ball found me early. I mean, I was able to make a few shots early, and that helped with my confidence and just helped with the flow. Now, they had to guard me a little bit. So, now everyone else can get off or do whatever we have to do."

Sixers had an answer for everything

Yes, the Celtics didn't have Jayson Tatum , but they are still a championship-level team without him and they were able to find ways to win without him on their way to the No. 2 seed in the East. There were plenty of times in the fourth when it appeared they were going to steal this one from the Sixers and send them into the offseason. Instead, with everything working against them, such as a raucous crowd at TD Garden, the Sixers found answers everywhere. Maxey had two huge shots to put Philadelphia up by five after Boston had cut the lead to just one, but couldn't find any offensive success after the Sixers shut their water off. It was an impresisve showing on the road with so much on the line.

"Well, the first thing I want to say is that it’s really good for us to go through that and respond to it," said coach Nick Nurse. "I mean, it’s good to have that experience of it’s going to be like that in the playoffs. You’re going to be in a tight game, and it’s going to be super loud, and you probably see me, I was trying really hard to get the guys’ attention, just get them moved in places, and you just can't do it sometimes, and you just have to play through it. I think we handled it just enough, right? But I think it’s really good for us to experience it."

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following Game 7 elimination of Celtics