For the Sixers, Game 7 against the Boston Celtics will be judgment time

It’s judgment time.

The 76ers have come a long way, but they must close the deal on Sunday. They put themselves in this situation after failing to close out the Boston Celtics on Thursday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

A victory would enable them to shed the label of being a great regular-season team that implodes in the second round. They’ll shed the label of being championship pretenders and will become bona fide title contenders.

But they blew their first opportunity to do that Thursday when they suffered a 95-86 loss in Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center. That knotted the series, 3-3, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 Sunday at TD Garden.

» READ MORE: Sixers squander historic opportunity in bonkers environment. In Game 7, shots need to fall.

“We know what we got to do,” Joel Embiid said. “We’ve gone on the road, we’ve won. It’s not going to be easy in Boston. But, the same thing. We got to start better than we were tonight and everybody has to step up starting with me. I have to be more aggressive.”

The newly minted league MVP and first-team All-NBA selection finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Fourteen of his points came after intermission. However, he only took two shots — both misses — in the final 5 minutes, 39 seconds.

The Sixers also were doomed by a 12-point deficit 4:41 into the game.

This was a golden opportunity for the Sixers to celebrate a rare feat instead of heading back to Boston. They’ve won a conference semifinal just once in 12 appearances, dating back to the 1985-86 season.

Now, they find themselves in a predicament. Win Sunday and celebrate the franchise’s biggest accomplishment since reaching the NBA Finals in 2001. And considering what’s transpired over the last 12 seasons, that would become one of the most enjoyable wins in franchise history.

A loss, and they’ll have the moniker of still the same ol’ Sixers. You know, the ones who can’t get out of the second round and choke in the biggest moments.

Moments like Thursday are why the Sixers went through The Process. It’s why they hired Doc Rivers as coach and Daryl Morey as president of basketball operations three years ago. And it’s why James Harden took a $15 million pay cut this summer so the Sixers could sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr., two key contributors to this series, this offseason.

» READ MORE: James Harden cost the Sixers Game 6. He faces a do-or-die Game 7.

Judgment time.

Tired of second-round exits was part of the reason why The Process began.

The Sixers’ 2011-12 season concluded on May 26, 2012, with a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. So the ownership group broke that team up in the offseason, acquiring several players with expiring contracts for the 2012-13 season.

But instead of using cap space available to sign free agents, the team went for a total reset in the summer of 2013. They replaced former general manager Tony DiLeo with Sam Hinkie, traded All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans, and openly tanked for four seasons.

During that time, the Sixers posted a 75-253 record. Their worst season was 2015-16, when they finished 10-72, one loss shy of the NBA and organization’s worst record.

Even though The Process brought a lot of pain and humiliation, the Sixers stayed the course, believing they were on the right path.

They improved from an excitement standpoint, but still hit second-round walls.

The Sixers lost in the second round to the Boston Celtics in five games in 2018. A season later, Kawhi Leonard’s fadeaway corner four-bounce jumper at the buzzer lifted the Raptors to a 92-90 Game 7 victory. Then in 2020, the Sixers were swept by the Celtics in the first round leading to a coaching change and a front-office reboot.

But that didn’t change their fate.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid lands spot on All-NBA first team, adding to this year’s list of career milestones

The Sixers finished with the conference’s best record in 2021 and still lost their second-round series in seven games to the Atlanta Hawks. They lost there to the Heat in six games last season.

So is it tough for the Sixers to advance beyond the conference semifinals?

“Because winning is hard,” Rivers said after last season’s second-round exit. “You just don’t show up and you just don’t say, ‘OK guys. We’re moving on.’ It’s hard. We’re not the only organization. It’s hard to move on. We had an opportunity last year, didn’t get it done. This year was tough. I mean, obviously, with all the injuries and stuff, so the answers are easy. It’s hard. We’re right there. We put ourselves in the argument. And that’s all you can do. And then you come back and keep working at it until you get over the mountain.

“Milwaukee, you look at them, it took two or three years to get over the mountain [and win the 2021 title]. That’s just the way it works. It’s not guaranteed to anybody.”

Judgment time.

A victory Sunday would go a long way in regards to getting people to forget about some of the missteps of The Process.

The Process produced eight lottery-pick acquisitions from the 2013 through 2018 drafts.

The Sixers traded away Nerlens Noel (sixth, 2013) Michael Carter-Williams (11th, 2013), Dario Šarić (12th, 2014), Jahlil Okafor (third, 2015), Markelle Fultz (first, 2017), and Mikal Bridges (10th, 2018) for very little or nothing in return.

Bridges was a Sixer for 38 minutes before being shipped to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first-round pick. Smith was a bad fit for the Sixers, who never gave him a real opportunity to showcase his skills.

He became injured and ill and played in only 13 games before being traded to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 23, 2020. After being waived by the Pistons, Smith played one season for the Memphis Hustle, the NBA G League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s now out of basketball.

The Sixers did get Harden from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Ben Simmons (first, 2016).

Embiid, who was taken third in 2014 draft, is the only lottery pick holdover. And he came into this season with an 0-4 record in second-round series.

So a second-round win will be special for the big fella, especially since it will come against the hated Celtics. He’s 0-2 in playoff series against the Atlantic Division rival before this series.

The Sixers had lost five straight postseason series to Celtics.

But it was the development of Tyrese Maxey, the re-signing of Harden and offseason acquisitions of De’Anthony Melton, Tucker, House, and Montrezl Harrell that have people thinking this could be the season for a breakthrough.

Embiid and Harden developed into one of the league’s best duos. Maxey was a terror in the open floor. Tobias Harris not only became a solid two-way player, but one of the league’s best fourth options. And Tucker is the glue guy with championship pedigree, having won a title two seasons ago in Milwaukee.

And with Questlove, Eagles center Jason Kelce and his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. in the stands, the Sixers failed to close out the series on Thursday.

Now, they will have a tough test in front of a hostile crowd in Boston. It’s tough from the standpoint that Boston has the momentum. It’s also tough from a historic standout.

Rivers has a NBA-worst 17-32 record in series-clinching opportunities. He’s lost nine straight second-round close-out opportunities. The Celtics are 8-1 in their last nine elimination games against the Sixers. And the Sixers have been unable to get out of the second round.

Thursday’s outcome had a lot to do with shooting woes. The Sixers made just 36.1% of their shots, including going 8 of 34 on three-pointers.

“So, like I said, yeah, make or miss league,” Embiid said. “I feel pretty good about it. They made shots. We just got to make sure we’re ready for Sunday. You know, big game for us, Game 7. Who doesn’t love Game 7? So it’s gonna be exciting.”

Judgment time.