76ers Saw James Harden Play 'Perfect' in Game 5 vs. Celtics

There’s been no shortage of praise for Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden throughout the Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Boston Celtics.

While Harden struggled in the second and third matchups of the series, as he made just five shots over the course of two games, Harden blocked out the noise and approached the following two games business as usual.

In Game 4, Harden was key to a 76ers victory as he once again caught fire in the scoring department. In 47 minutes of action, Harden knocked down 16 of his 23 shot attempts, scoring 42 points. He also dished out nine assists and came down with eight rebounds in the Sixers’ one-point win.

The veteran star didn’t follow up with another big scoring night, but he helped set his teammates up for success. Following yet, another dominant playmaking game for Harden, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was convinced Harden had the perfect game on Tuesday night.

“I thought James was a magician,” said Rivers. “He called a perfect game. He was aggressive early on when he needed to be aggressive, and then he kind of sat back and played and got everybody else involved. I thought he was unbelievable.”

Taking just eight shots from the field in 39 minutes, Harden accounted for nine points from the field. His other eight points came from the charity stripe, where he connected on eight of his ten attempts.

Harden scored below his series average by producing 17 points, but he nearly collected a triple-double as he racked up ten assists and came down with eight rebounds, all of which came on the defensive end.

Although Harden’s been the scoring leader in two of the Sixers’ three victories in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this season, Tuesday night was an all-around successful collective effort from Philadelphia.

The two-time league-scoring champion Joel Embiid knocked down ten shots and ten free throws to lead his team with 33 points. Tyrese Maxey exploded for his best game of the series, scoring 30 points as he lit it up from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Tobias Harris shot an efficient 70 percent from the field, scoring 16 points, while Danuel House led the bench with ten points, as he made all but two of his seven shots. Just as he’s done all season long, Harden quarterbacked the offense and tweaked his game as he saw fit.

“I’m just trying to be solid, make the right play, and also be aggressive,” Harden explained. “I started to be aggressive, and then they were denying me, so it really opened the floor for Tyrese. He hasn’t really shot the ball well or scored the ball well this series, and we knew he was going to turn it around because he puts the work in and the time in to work on his game. That’s what it’s gonna be in the playoffs, and then you commend somebody like Danuel House, who comes in and changes the dynamic of the game. Those two players tonight are really effective and one of the reasons why we won tonight.”

The Sixers collected their most comfortable win of the second-round series against the Celtics in Game 5.

With a 115-103 victory, the Sixers take a 3-2 series lead and are set up with an opportunity to possibly advance past the second round of the playoffs on Thursday night.