Joel Embiid, James Harden choke in a gutless showing in Boston. ‘The Process’ fails again.

BOSTON — What disgrace. What humiliation.

The Sixers had the hated Celtics right where they wanted them, leading 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinal. Then they stumbled in the fourth quarter of Game 6 at home, then left their hearts in Philadelphia for the franchise’s biggest Game 7 since 2001. They trailed by 28 points with more than a quarter to play. They gave up with more than three minutes in the game, down 30. Their principles sat and watched, stunned.

Joel Embiid had his chin in hand. James Harden hung his head. The Sixers lost, 112-88. It felt worse.

In the biggest game of Embiid’s career, and possibly the last relevant game of Harden’s, they showed up like the Tin Man before he met Oz. Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum gave them a lesson in heart and greatness: 51 points, 11 rebounds, and a resounding reminder that the regular-season MVP award means little.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid, James Harden produce lackluster performance as Sixers lose Game 7

Embiid’s the MVP. Tatum finished fourth in that voting, but Tatum is playing Jimmy Butler and the Heat on Wednesday in the conference final, not Embiid.

Tatum was magnificent. He would have ripped their hearts out, but again, Harden and Embiid left their hearts in Philly.

Now, do they dare show their faces in Philly again?

Can they, in good conscience, present themselves for the 2023-24 season, in which they will earn a combined $90 million? Will Harden opt out of his contract for next season? Probably. Will Embiid request a trade? Maybe.

Can coach Doc Rivers, who’s won nothing since his 2008 title in Boston, survive another playoff collapse? Almost certainly not.

Embiid, Harden, and Rivers are Sixers because another Sixers team — a tough, plucky, overachieving Sixers team — lost an identical game here, but not in identical way. The last time the Sixers took Boston to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, they at least played like they cared. They at least put forth a professional effort, cutting the lead of the Celtics’ Hall of Fame roster to three points late in the fourth quarter. That Game 7 loss eventually sent Jrue Holiday onto a superb career that includes an NBA title with the Bucks. It sent Andre Iguodala away via trade, and he’s won four titles with the Warriors.

They were the chief casualties of “The Process,” which begun in 2013 with the intention of eventually launching the Sixers past the second-round purgatory in which they’d they found themselves trapped for a dozen seasons.

Fast-forward a decade.

Embiid, the centerpiece of “The Process,” has won nothing. Neither has Harden, a transcendent player whom the Sixers acquired last season via trade for Ben Simmons, one of a half-dozen Process busts.

» READ MORE: Live Blog: Philly’s season ends with Game 7 blowout loss; Tatum goes off

If they continue to play with the same sort of heart they showed Sunday afternoon in Boston, they’ll never win anything.

Embiid settled for fadeaway jump shots over Al Horford, who’s 36 years old but plays with more gumption than the man seven years his junior. Embiid scored just 15 points, grabbed just eight rebounds, and was utterly passive. It was the worst playoff game of his career.

And he was better than Harden.

Harden just … settled. “Playoff James,” The Beard’s alter-ego with more postseason no-shows than Axl Rose and Lauren Hill, finished with three field goals and five turnovers. His aggressive play helped the Sixers win Game 1, when he matched his career playoff high with 45 points in Embiid’s absence, and Game 4, when he dropped 42 alongside Embiid, who’d come back in Game 2 from a 10-day knee-sprain absence.

Then, in Games 6 and 7, Harden shot 7-for-25, including a 3-for-11 mark on Sunday, hitting one-of-five threes. He was tentative, reluctant, scared. He hesitated to shoot once he beat his primary defender and faced defensive help. He fired four airballs.

Statistically, he was awful. Empirically, he was worse.

What humiliation.

What disgrace.