Joel Embiid, Harden Ripped by Fans for Awful Game 7 in 76ers' Loss to Tatum, Celtics

Jayson Tatum played like a superstar on Sunday. Joel Embiid and James Harden did not.

And it's the main reason why the Boston Celtics are off to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Philadelphia 76ers are not.

The Celtics blew out the Sixers, 112-88, in the decisive game of the second-round series on Sunday behind Tatum's 51 points, an NBA record for a Game 7.

While he was lighting the nets on fire, Philly's pair of MVPs in Embiid and Harden combined to shoot 8-of-29 from the field for just 24 points. Put another way, Tatum alone more than doubled their scoring.

It was a shocking choke job from Philly's two stars, and NBA Twitter didn't hold back:

Tatum deserves to be the focal point for his excellent performance, but from a Philly perspective, it's hard to ignore just how disappointing the performance from the Sixers—and namely, Embiid and Harden—was in an elimination game.

Harden likely cemented his reputation as a player who shrinks in the biggest moments. Embiid, who has never gotten past the second round, is building a similar resume. Doc Rivers continues to add to the narrative, outside of his one title with Boston, that he struggles to get teams over the playoff hump.

But the Sixers, in general, folded. After trailing by just three at the half, the Sixers were outscored 33-10 in the third quarter. They shot 8-of-37 (21.6 percent) from three and turned the ball over 12 times to just seven for the Celtics.

Losing a Game 7 on the road when the other team's best player goes absolutely nuclear might, in different circumstances, be easier to stomach. But the Sixers had the Celtics on the ropes, up 3-2 in the series and at home in Philadelphia for Game 6, a game in which Tatum struggled immensely for three quarters before catching fire in the fourth.

That was a huge blown opportunity. So was a Game 7 that was close for a half before the Sixers just seemingly forgot how to play basketball.

If you've ever listened to Philadelphia sports talk radio, you know it won't be pretty after the team's performance these past two games—namely for Embiid and Harden, who came up tiny in the shadow of Tatum's giant offensive outburst.