The mind goes back 41 years ago to another Sixers-Celtics Game Six, on another May night in another Philadelphia arena – the Spectrum, which used to sit across the parking lot from the Sixers’ current home, the Wells Fargo Center, but now is a parking lot.

Then, as now, the home team was looking to close out a series. Then, as now, the home crowd, aching to celebrate, was roaring in a way only playoff crowds roar, which is to say it sounded like part exhortation, part desperation.

And then, as now, a shooter’s performance proved pivotal.

That night in 1982 – a Friday night – Sixers guard Andrew Toney, long known as the Boston Strangler, missed 10 of 11 shots as his team bowed meekly to the C’s, 88-75. Toney redeemed himself two days later, pouring in 34 points as the Sixers scored an unlikely Game Seven victory in Boston Garden.

In Thursday’s Game Six, Boston’s Jayson Tatum struggled even more mightily, but found redemption far more quickly. After misfiring on 13 of his first 14 attempts, the three-time All-NBA forward buried four 3-pointers in the final 4:14, burying the Sixers as well. The Celtics’ 95-86 victory enables them to return home Sunday for the decisive game of the series, and puts the Sixers in a position similar to that of their long-ago predecessors.

Different rung in the ladder, of course – this year the ancient rivals are meeting in the Eastern Conference semifinals, while in 1982, they were squaring off in the conference finals – but same vibe.

“It’s going to be a war (on Sunday),” Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said, “and one thing I will say is that if I had to go to war on the road for a Game Seven in Boston, I would want to go with this group. I know we’ve got some fighters. I know we’ve got some resilient guys. I’m ready to get it on.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had likewise resorted to that metaphor before Thursday’s game, saying he was “ready for war” after his club dropped the two previous games. And indeed the C’s built an early 16-point lead before the Sixers overtook Boston in the third quarter, going up by as many as five.

The Sixers were still clinging to a two-point cushion midway through the fourth period, but managed only a single field goal in the final 6:13, a garbage-time bucket by backup guard Jaden Springer. Meantime Tatum finally found the range, splashing in a triple from the left corner with 4:14 left to put his team ahead to stay, at 84-83, and adding another from the right wing on the next Boston possession.

“Once he got it going,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said, “it was hard to turn it off.”

Tatum, who finished with 19 points on 5-for-21 shooting, added two more treys in the final two minutes. After the last, with 37.6 seconds left, he strutted along the sideline and stared into the crowd.

“For 43 minutes I had to hear them tell me how bad I was,” he said with a smirk, “so it kind of felt good to see everybody getting out of their seat, leaving early.”

Call it karmic payback for Andrew Toney (though in truth the ledger remains heavily weighted in Boston’s favor on that score, given the teams’ long history). Or call it a tribute to the unshakable mentality all great shooters must possess.

Immediately after the game, Tatum told ESPN sideline reporter Cassidy Hubbarth he “humbly” believes he is “one of the best basketball players in the world,” and when he finally made it to the interview room over an hour later he reiterated as much.

“I truly believe that,” he said. “Like, I know that. It’s easy to tell yourself that when you’ve got 40 or 35, but I think that shows character when you can tell yourself that when you’ve only hit one shot and things are not going your way. … And I kept telling myself that I believe in myself until it turned around.”

Whether he actually did continue to believe is open to speculation. As he put it, “I don’t want to do this shit again. Hopefully that’s a one-time thing.” But certainly he was buoyed by others, who urged him to keep firing.

“He makes the big bucks for a reason,” said guard Marcus Smart, who added that there are times when Tatum believes he has to take on a bigger burden than he actually does.

“And,” Smart said, “he wants to be so perfect. And you know, it’s a good thing and it’s a bad thing.”

Better, Smart said, that Tatum understands stuff can go sideways sometimes, and you just have to do the best you can. And better that he understands that everybody has his back. Mazzulla also made that clear, telling Tatum during one fourth-quarter timeout that he loved him.

“It’s a pretty powerful statement,” the rookie coach said, adding that it is one he will reiterate before Game Seven “multiple times.”

Wasn’t the first time Mazzulla showed his affection for his star.

“And I’ve done that to him,” Tatum said. “In his first year, he’s done an unbelievable job. And I know there were a lot of questions and doubts. And I’ve told him a lot of times, ‘I’ve got your back.’ ”

Hey, love conquers all. But no matter the era, and no matter the stakes, it doesn’t hurt if you’ve got someone who can (and will) shoot the rock, come what may.