3 observations after the Sixers’ impressive Christmas win over the Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

BOSTON – The Sixers’ season reached its crystal clear peak on Christmas.

The team visited TD Garden on the holiday and earned an impressive 118-114 victory over the Celtics.

Tyrese Maxey had 33 points, 12 assists and three steals. Joel Embiid scored 27 points and nine rebounds.

Caleb Martin scored his most points ever as a Sixer, scoring 23 and making seven three-pointers, the most of his career.

Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and 15 rebounds for the Celtics, who fell to 22-8.

The 11-17 Sixers were without four players in Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery), KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction), Andre Drummond (left toe sprain) and Eric Gordon (oral surgery). Boston’s Jrue Holiday was sidelined with a right shoulder injury.

Wednesday’s game was the first of six road trips for the Sixers. They will next play on Saturday night when they take on the Jazz.

Here are observations about their Christmas win in Boston:

Much improved Christmas for Maxey

After Al Horford knocked down two three-pointers in the first two minutes, Embiid and Maxey each sank long-range shots in response.

With KJ Martin out, Caleb Martin started his first game since November 24th, guarding Jaylen Brown. Offensively, he and Kelly Oubre Jr. were both on the perimeter in the first quarter. The Sixers’ star trio of Maxey, Embiid and Paul George combined to make 18 of the team’s first 19 field goals.

Maxey ran well, attacking the team without hesitation and scoring 12 points and four assists in the first period. Early in the second quarter, he broke through the Celtics’ defense and hit a dunk that gave the Sixers a 32-25 lead.

At that point, his performance was already far better than his 4-for-20 performance in the Sixers’ Christmas loss to the Heat last year.

Maxey also maintained his streak, recording at least one steal in every game he played this season. As a team, the Sixers gained an early advantage in the possession game; Boston had its first five turnovers of the night and the Sixers only had one turnover in the first half.

Small-Ball success

Without Drummond, Guerschon Yabusele was a clear choice as the Sixers’ backup center. However, head coach Nick Nurse decided to play particularly small when Embiid sat.

The Sixers used a three-guard lineup late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter, playing veteran guards Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson alongside Maxey. Overall, the Sixers’ lack of size in this lineup hasn’t often hurt them. Boston continued to shoot from three-point range against both zone and man-to-man defenses and had no free throws until the 4:37 mark of the second quarter.

The Sixers were also fierce on defense and excellent offensively across the board. Former Celtic Yabusele scored 10 points in the first half and Martin added eight in the second quarter, firing two three-pointers and scoring a tip-in. George scored an uncontested dunk that extended the Sixers’ lead to 52-36.

Tatum helped the Celtics regain the lead late in the second quarter, but Embiid made several timely jumpers to slow Boston down. He ostentatiously celebrated after sinking a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in the second period, pointing to the hostile crowd and appearing to say a few words back.

Embiid-free excellence

The Celtics went on an inevitable 7-0 run early in the third quarter. Brown scored on two balls inside, Tatum hit a pull-up three-pointer and Martin missed a couple of decent catch-and-shoot looks.

George continued to fail on a 7-0 night from three-point range and the Sixers’ offense became much more isolated. Brown and the Celtics were also relentless. After a closely guarded miss by Embiid, Brown’s layup gave Boston an 80-76 lead.

Yabusele was impressive again at the end of the third quarter and the Sixers repeated their very strong game without Embiid from the first half. Incredibly, with Embiid on the court, the Sixers topped 18 points and still beat the defending champions.

Brown missed two free throws and Maxey then poured in seven straight points. In a flash, the Sixers had a double-digit lead. Nurse rolled with an eight-man rotation and didn’t have to deviate from it.

Before Wednesday, Martin’s season high for three points in a game was three. He scored a friendly holiday bench on his fifth goal and extended the Sixers’ lead to 103-88 with his sixth goal. Compared to a few weeks ago, he is significantly less limited by shoulder pain and his shooting mechanics are much more balanced.

The Sixers suddenly faltered against Boston’s pressure, committing three consecutive turnovers and seeing their lead shrink to 108-105 on a fast-break dunk by Horford.

They refocused in time to solidify the win by playing excellent team defense and making their late free throws on several key possessions. Embiid tied the game by calmly making two foul throws with 2.8 seconds left.