One of the main storylines heading into the Boston Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers centered on just whether Al Horford would be able to slow down Joel Embiid. In the end, it was Horford who had the last laugh.

The Celtics picked up a convincing 112-88 win over the 76ers in Game 7 on Sunday to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. Horford was not a reliable scorer for the Celtics throughout this playoff matchup, as he scored a mere six points. However, the veteran center exerted quite an impact on the defensive end.

Horford squared off with Embiid for much of the contest, and the reigning NBA MVP winner failed to get much going in such matchups. Overall, Embiid scored just 15 points on 27.7 percent shooting in the game.

Horford knew entering the series that he would have quite a challenge ahead of him to help contain Embiid.

“Try to make everything as difficult as I could,” Horford said after the game. “He's the MVP of the league for a reason. … I was just out there trying to fight for my life, trying to make an impact. I understood that in this series, it wasn't going to be so much my offense, it was more defensively that I had to take that challenge and defend him for us to have a chance.”

Horford added that he got “comfortable” as the series went on. In the big picture, he simply wanted to make his presence felt in the series in any way he could.

“I had to put my imprint in the series,” Horford said. “I had to figure it out.”

Embiid averaged 25.5 points per game on 42.1 percent shooting against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinal round.

The Celtics will now look ahead to a showdown with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.