Believe it: The Sixers’ stunning dominance in Game 6 has Boston on the ropes

You kept waiting for something to change. Nothing ever did. The best team on the basketball court at Xfinity Mobile Arena was the team that was blown out the last time it played there, the team that has been facing elimination since Sunday, the team that looked like a dead team walking for the first five quarters of the series.

That team was the 76ers. Incredibly so. A ridiculous idea a week ago now is the best case. You’d be hard-pressed to bet against the Celtics in a do-or-die Game 7 at home, but you’d be even harder pressed to bet on them after watching the Sixers dismantle them for six straight quarters. The four most relevant of those quarters unfolded on Thursday night in Game 6 as the Sixers dominated the Celtics in a 106-93 victory to even this best-of-seven series at three game apiece.

» READ MORE: 76ers defeat the Celtics, force a Game 7 in Boston; Tyrese Maxey dominant, Jayson Tatum banged up

If the final margin makes you clean off your reading glasses, know this: it didn’t come close to capturing the difference between the two teams. From the first possession to the last meaningful one, the Sixers outplayed the Celtics in every facet of the game. They had the two best players on the court in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Celtics rarely had an answer for either. When they did, they had no answer for Paul George. The Sixers’ Big Three combined for 72 points, with Maxey hitting 11-of-22 shots for 30 points.

Joe Mazzulla needs to find some sort of game plan fast before Game 7 tips off on Saturday.

His most unsolvable dilemma will be what to do about Embiid. He hasn’t found an answer for six straight quarters now. It’s the biggest reason to think the Sixers can actually pull this thing off.

Embiid played much bigger than his stat line in Game 6, quarterbacking the Sixers offense in a way that will be awfully tough to stop. He was everything that he needed to be: aggressive, composed, smart with the basketball. He scored the first bucket of the game after burying Neemias Queta down low and then hitting a short turnaround jumper. The game might’ve been over by halftime if the Sixers had maintained that strategy. Instead, they were only up nine at intermission despite a brutal shooting performance by the Celtics.

The second half was a different story. Every possession was paint by numbers. Entry pass to Embiid, then watch him overpower single coverage or pass out of a double-team to a wide-open teammate. He finished with just 19 points on 6-of-18 shooting, but he had eight assists and 10 rebounds. He was also excellent on the defensive end as the last line of defense against a Celtics team that had trouble getting past George, Kelly Oubre Jr., VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes on the wing. Superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for just 35 points on 13-of-30 shooting.

David Murphy alerts

Weekly

Get David Murphy’s clear-eyed analysis and fresh perspective on the biggest stories in Philly sports.

Make no mistake. The Celtics were brutal. They’re a good bet to shoot better than 12-for-41 from three-point range and 9 of 16 from the foul line. But the Sixers didn’t exactly shoot the lights out either, hitting just 11 of 33 from three-point range. This was not a case of the Celtics losing the game for themselves. The Sixers won it outright.

A week ago, it would have felt ridiculous booking a return flight to Boston for Game 7 on Saturday. By the end of Game 6, it felt startlingly right.