Philadelphia 76ers 118, Boston Celtics 114.

Phew.

Good win for Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points with 12 assists. Joel Embiid added 27 points. Caleb Martin knocked down seven three-pointers en route to 23 points. As a team, the Sixers hit on 46.6% of their shots and 42.5% on three-pointers.

Almost a catastrophic loss for Philadelphia. The Sixers were largely in control of this game for three and a half quarters. They led by five after the first quarter. It was eight o’clock at halftime. A Martin three-pointer six minutes before the end of the game extended the lead to 15. The Celtics, who had beaten Jrue Holiday, could barely contain Maxey. The frontcourt, which played the second half without Kristaps Porzingis, who was sidelined with an ankle injury, struggled with Embiid And Guerschon Yabusele, who contributed 12 points.

But Boston rallied in the final six minutes. Jayson Tatum fired shots. Derrick White made threes. An Al Horford dunk with 2½ minutes left cut the lead to three — and sent a sold-out TD Garden into a frenzy.

As the game progressed, however, the Sixers closed out. Two free throws from Embiid increased the lead to five. A Maxey layup made it seven. The Celtics had one last try and a 25-footer from Jaylen Brown cut the score to two with five seconds left. But two more free throws from Embiid sealed the win.

Again-Phew. The Sixers needed this. A snakebite season began in December. They were 6-3 this month and entered this Christmas Day matchup. Maxey’s shooting performance has increased in recent games. Embiid, plagued by injuries since training camp, was (mostly) on the floor. The drama that has dogged this team since October appeared to be on the verge of unraveling in the new year.

“I probably haven’t experienced anything like it,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said before the game. “It’s definitely not much fun…we’re definitely playing a lot better.”

They needed a win against The Team too. The Celtics owned the Sixers during the Embiid era. They are 15-13 against Philadelphia since the 2017-18 season. They are 12-4 in the playoffs. Looking for a reason why the 76ers didn’t make it out of the second round? Look no further than Boston, which has knocked off Philly three times in the last seven years.

The Celtics will likely stand in the way of the Sixers. Boston is a juggernaut. Three-point shooters go deep eight times. It can be switched from one to five. The team that finished 16-3 in the postseason last season appears poised to make a similar run this season.

Philadelphia went on a spending spree this summer to compete with Boston, signing Martin and Paul George to new contracts and luring Olympic star (and ex-Celtic) Yabusele back across the pond. But there was no consistency. The Sixers’ new Big Three — Embiid, Maxey and George — had played just 71 minutes together entering Wednesday’s game. Chemistry is key for all title-winning teams. Right now, Philly has little.

Maxey said: “We have to defend ourselves to get into the position we want to be in.”

Nevertheless, there is still time. The first third of the season was disappointing – the win over Boston improved Philadelphia to 11-17 – but there are still two periods left. Embiid can still be dominant. Before the game, Embiid tripped over a safety rope the Garden had set up that separated the floor from the courtside seats, injuring his right ankle. But he played 31 minutes and shot a decent 8 of 15 from the floor and a ruthlessly efficient 4 of 5 from three games. Maxey, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, can be great. George is still figuring out the Sixers’ system – on Wednesday he missed all seven of his three-point attempts and finished the game 4 of 15 – but he’s just months away from being an All-Star. Season located in Los Angeles.

Expectations at the start of the season were high. This month has proven that the Sixers are still a match for them. Their top trio is as talented as any in basketball, and the bench is getting better every week. The Celtics will be a strong team in the playoffs. But at Christmas, Philadelphia learned something about what it takes to beat them.

“I think we have a high ceiling,” Embiid said. “It’s important that we do it together. I don’t think it was our best basketball, but we had a pretty good chance, so it’s just a matter of waiting for some luck and staying healthy.”