It's all coming together at the right time for the Sixers

BOSTON — In order to be able to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series, so many things have to go right and maybe a little luck involved, too.

The Sixers got that as they disposed of the Boston Celtics with Saturday 109-100 victory at TD Garden Sautday night. The luck came in the form of Celtics' star Jayson Tatum being sidelined due to a sore left knee. The other things were huge contributions from each and every Sixer, understanding their role, performing it and being appreciative of others when they may even take over someone else's perceived role.

None of it matters when you're winning, and the Sixers undoubtedly feel that way as they prepare for an almost unfair, quick turnaround to face the New York Knicks in the second round beginning Monday at 8 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.

Quite simply, and Boston coach Joe Mazzulla admitted, Joel Embiid was the difference in the series, once he was back after missing the first three games after his appendectomy. He was unstoppable at the offensive end, averaging 28 points and nine rebounds, and his presence opened up so much space at the offensive end from which Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. benefitted.

He wanted the ball early to set the tone, and wanted it late in games even though the exhaustion was so evident. He powered through Boston's bigs. He laughed when they tried to put smalls on him. He was the dominating force at the perfect time.

"Joe wanted it, he showed it," said George. "We talked about it. Game 7 has a sour taste in his mouth. Also, playing Boston has a sour taste in his mouth. This is a double whammy for him, that he wanted this. He almost willed it possession by possession. He wanted the ball, he wanted those matchups, he wanted the moment and he showed it. He dominated. He got to his spot. It didn't matter who was guarding him. 

"For him to take on the leadership of 'I got this. I'm going to take us over the hump,' kind of just put everybody at ease. For me, I'm gonna do my part, make the plays that I need to make, get the stops that I need to get us. And get us over this hump as well."

George has a knack for knowing the moment and knowing when he has to be a part of the moment. He'll often go on three-four minute offensive spurts where you can see the confidence oozing out of him on his shots. He's more than willing to attempt a big one, and his defense in the series on Boston's best two scorers, Tatum and Jaylen Brown, was magnificent. And he did it again in Game 7 after a night of no sleep due to a bad head cold and sore throat.

"We stayed together, we stayed connected, we didn't panic," he said. "We knew what we were up against. We just had to come out and do our part. We believed in the talent in this room. We believed in the abilities. Give those guys credit. They were No. 2 all year, a good program over there. It took us to get to Game 7 to get this one. Great matchup, great opponent. I just thought we stayed connected all series."

Oubre was Robin to George's Batman when it came to guarding the two best players in the series. He even seemed to sacrifice some of his offense because of the amount of energy he was using to shut down either Tatum or Brown. He drew key offensive fouls, and when Embiid, George or Maxey were getting double-teamed, he made timely cuts to the basket for easy dunks.

Edgecombe did everything in the series except for one thing — he didn't look like a rookie. He was that thorn in the Celtics side in each of the seven games, coming up with timely steals and blocks, or hard drives to the basket that led to arena-rattling reactions. He shot the big shot. He rebounded, he did things no other rookie has done in a playoff series. He was that good.

And when things needed to be closed out, with Embiid limping around after getting hit in the knee, Maxey was more than willing to do it. His two driving layups in the last two minutes of Saturday's game put the nail in the coffin. It's a role he now accepts and wants.

"It took a lot. It took all of us, the entire team, playing the right way, defending and competing and we did a good job of that," Maxey said. "I just wanted the ball. Early in the fourth, we went to Joel and I just felt it was time for me to step up and make a play. I hadn't really gotten into the flow of the game in the fourth, really. I knew I would need to step up and make plays for us down the stretch to win the game. It just happened that way."

And the series just happened that way. And the coming together for a group that hasn't been together much at all this season is happening this way. And it all couldn't be happening at a better time.