James Harden matched the best performance of his career in the playoffs on Monday, leading the Philadelphia 76ers with 45 points in the 115-119 victory, without Joel Embiid, at the TD Garden in Boston against the Celtics, in the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In chapter number 22 of a true NBA playoff classic, the 76ers hit the table against the Celtics, defeating them in their field despite the loss of Embiid, favorite for the MVP and absent for the second consecutive game for a right knee injury sustained in the series against the Brooklyn Nets.
‘La Barba’ had to take a step forward and did not tremble. He matched the 45 points scored against the Golden State Warriors in 2015 and did it with a marvelous 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds to go that led the way to victory for the 76ers.
He finished with 17 of 30 shooting from the field, seven 3-pointers and six assists, supported by Tyrese Maxey’s 26 points, who also had four steals, the last of which came in the last minute off Malcolm Brogdon’s ingenuity.
Harden’s great night embittered Jayson Tatum, who scored 39 points, 26 of them in the first half, with eleven rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 23 points and Brogdon, the best sixth man of the year, had twenty coming off the bench.
HARDEN AND MELTON RESPOND TO TATUM’S 26 POINTS
Both the Celtics and 76ers put up amazing percentages, moving the ball with pace and quality shooting. The Celtics connected on 73% of their field goals in the first half and the 76ers made 55%.
The stars traded tips, with Tatum and Brown leading the Celtics’ attack and Harden starting 5-for-5 and scoring 12 of the 76ers’ first 16 points.
The ‘Beard’ gave his team a six-point advantage at 19-13, but the Celtics annulled it with a resounding 11-0 that opened the way for a margin that touched twelve points at 62-50, when Tatum he hit a devastating triple from nine meters.
The Celtics star signed twenty points in the second segment and already had 26 at halftime, supported by 16 goals from Brown. Joe Mazzulla’s team scored as many as forty points in the paint, but their more than 70% shooting was not enough to put the 76ers out of the game.
The advantage was only three points (66-63) in the middle of the match, thanks to a Harden of 21 points and a De’Anthony Melton of 17 points and five of five in triples for the Sixers who closed the second quarter with a partial of 13-4.
STELLAR DUEL BETWEEN LA BARBA AND TATUM
It was a very high intensity duel and the pulse between Tatum and Harden continued, reaching levels, if possible, even higher.
The 76ers had a great start to the third period and took a six-point lead at 83-77, but the balance was high going into the fourth, tied at 87.
Harden broke the forty-point barrier with his sixth 3-pointer of his night to make it 102-100 in the 76s, and Tatum responded with a marvelous assist for Brogdon. On that play, however, he received a strong involuntary blow from PJ Tucker in the testicular area that left him lying on the ground for a few minutes.
Both ‘Barba’ and Maxey had foul problems, already five with more than three minutes to play, but they managed to continue contributing for the Sixers. Maxey himself made a great three-point play against Smart for 110-111 with 1.37 on the clock.
With less than a minute to play, Brogdon made a serious mistake by forcing his play at the end of 24 seconds and handing the ball to Maxey, who was able to score to make it 114-113 for the Sixers.
To the two free kicks with which Tatum returned the Celtics’ advantage, Harden responded with a wonderful three-pointer against Horford that made it 115-117 to the light with only 8.4 seconds to play.
The Celtics failed to score in their last action and a Tatum foul on Paul Reed determined the final 115-119 of the 76ers.
The second game of the series will be played this Wednesday, again at the TD Garden.
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2023-05-02 18:01:26
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