BOSTON – Time and again already this postseason, we’ve seen teams face and win playoff games without star players. No Giannis Antetokounmpo, no Ja Morant, no Draymond Green, no problem. The Bucks, Grizzlies and Warriors all managed to prevail while down a significant piece.

Add the Philadelphia 76ers to the list too, what with their 119-115 victory over Boston at TD Garden Monday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Center Joel Embiid was an unsurprising scratch, still hobbled by a right knee sprain suffered April 20 against Brooklyn in the first round.

The Sixers finished off their sweep of the Nets two nights later without Embiid. But doing it Monday required a whole ’nother level of resiliency, facing a tougher, deeper opponent in a truly hostile gym.

Here are five takeaways from a stunning outcome that swiped home-court from the Celtics and stuck them in an early 1-0 hole:

1. Winning without the big guy

Confirmation of Embiid’s unavailability for Game 1 broke moments before Sixers coach Doc Rivers met with the media before the game. Upon arrival to the podium, he sat down, sighed and said, “Well, he’s out …”

Anticipation for this one shifted immediately into “without Embiid” mode. As in, digging up the numbers, which showed Philadelphia as a dramatically better team when the six-time All-Star is on the floor. Just this season, the Sixers go from 8.8 points better per 100 possessions with Embiid to minus 1.5 when he’s not playing.

And with Rivers sharing that Embiid, despite 11 days of rest and rehab, still had done “zero running,” the dark cloud of his injury hung over not just Monday’s game but perhaps the entire series.

And then the clouds parted, just like Boston’s Marcus Smart and Al Horford heading different ways defending the pick and roll when it mattered most.

Here are some reasons the Sixers cited for how they pulled off the unexpected: Clearly there was less pressure on those who did play, with most folks assuming a certain loss. Their previous game was April 22, giving them more than a week to practice and prepare without Embiid. And according to Rivers, a maturity that last year’s team didn’t have kicked in when it was needed most.

“A bunch of street fighters,” the coach said. “We’re tougher, we’re resilient, we’ve shown that all year.”

The record bears that out. The Sixers were a combined 6-10 in 2021-22, regular season (6-8) and postseason (0-2), when Embiid sat. This season they’re 11-5 and now 2-0 in the playoffs.

2. ‘The Beard’ to the rescue

Flipping the ball to James Harden, a matter of necessity with Embiid out, could have been a problem. Philadelphia could have wound up with bad James Harden or old James Harden, a ball-pounder and shot-chucker dusting off some bad habits from his Houston or Brooklyn days.

Instead, what the Sixers got and the Celtics reeled from was bad James Harden (as in good) and vintage James Harden.

Harden scored 45 points, matching his playoff scoring high set eight years ago with the Rockets. He took 30 shots, made 17 and nailed half of his 14 3-pointers, including the game-winner from straightaway with 8.4 seconds left.

Harden had been on something of a redemption tour this season, fitting himself into Philadelphia’s team concept with a league-best 10.7 assists per game while facilitating Embiid’s Kia MVP candidacy. But the 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champ reached back to the days when he would launch 10 more shots and average 15 more points, and there was nothing selfish about it.

“All through the course of the year [the team expected me to] be a facilitator and get Joel the basketball and score when necessary,” Harden said. “Tonight I was aggressive. It’s not that I’m not capable of doing it, it’s just that this is my role with this team.”

3. Troubling defense for Celtics

The first half was bad enough, with Boston playing as if it could simply outscore the Embiid-less Sixers. By halftime, Philadelphia’s scorers (Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris) were more than comfortable, making 26 of 47 shots overall and 11 of 19 from the arc. What had been a lead of a dozen points for the home team was down to 66-63, and the green-drenched crowd at TD Garden had to know something was amiss.

The Celtics were more diligent in the third quarter, yet began the fourth tied at 87-87. Coach Joe Mazzulla kept single coverage on Harden out of pick and rolls and the bearded one romped. He scored 15 in the final quarter, including that last 3.

In fact, Rivers expressly did not call timeout after Jayson Tatum’s free throws with 26.1 seconds left because he didn’t want to give Mazzulla a chance to change up the flawed strategy.

And sure enough, with P.J. Tucker screening, Smart stuck with Tucker – who didn’t take a shot all night – and sank into the lane. That left Horford on an island against Harden, who would have licked his chops if they weren’t so hirsute.

4. Some old-school, ‘play on!’ basketball

Maxey almost stopped running, hearing a horn and assuming that his steal came an instant too late. A bungled Boston possession was about to trigger the shot clock, but Malcolm Brogdon’s blind pass went straight to Maxey, who bolted up court.

Instead of assuming the whistle, though, Maxey finished with a driving layup that bumped the Sixers ahead 114-113 with 28.9 seconds left.  It was an old-fashioned “play on!” moment, the kind of play that was routine and often left to referees’ discretion in the last century.

MAXEY OFF THE STEAL 😱

SIXERS LEAD BY 1 WITH 0:28 TO PLAY.

📺: TNT | Game 1 | PHI at BOS pic.twitter.com/HfsrXMjyYa

— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2023

That and a blocking foul on Smart a minute earlier, not rewarding the Celtics’ defender when he stepped under Maxey as he took flight, felt like throwbacks to a simpler, less officious era.

5. Opportunity knocked for Reed

Paul Reed, the No. 58 pick in the 2020 draft out of DePaul, came off the bench in his first 67 appearances this season and averaged 3.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 10.5 minutes. But the 6-foot-9 forward-center started Philadelphia’s final two regular season games and produced: 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 26.2 minutes.

Starting in Embiid’s spot in the clincher against Brooklyn, Reed had 10 points and 15 boards. And Monday he did it again with another double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. He knocked down four free throws in the final minute and even was targeted by teammate Tucker in a spirited challenge to get busier on the boards.

A guy who might loom as large as Embiid’s knee looks ready for his close-up.

feed Reed. 🍽️ pic.twitter.com/PYXIi8W7v7

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 2, 2023

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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