Three takeaways from Tatum, Celtics running away from 76ers in Game 7

This was a close game for the first 24 minutes — Philadelphia led by six after one quarter and was down just three at the half — but there were already troubling signs for 76ers fans. James Harden has six points on 2-of-8 shooting in the first half, while Joel Embiid was 4-of-12.

In the third quarter everything fell apart for Philly, which had a 6:23 scoreless streak as Boston went on to win the quarter 33-10 and never looked back.

Boston advances to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat (starting Wednesday), while Philadelphia faces some hard questions.

Here are three takeaways from the game

Jayson Tatum struggled in the first half for three straight games, shooting a combined 4-of-30 in those halves. It felt indicative of a team that only plays at its peak at points.

Sunday, with his team’s season in the balance, Tatum showed out and looked like the MVP — 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the first half. Then in the third quarter he outscored the entire 76ers team, 17 to 10.

He went on to score a Game 7-record 51 points for the game and looked every bit the All-NBA First Team player that he is.

A look at Jayson Tatum's 51-PT afternoon in Game 7