James Harden Felt the Love From Sixers Fans in Philly Debut

James Harden made his Philadelphia 76ers debut last Friday night on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He followed up that dominant matchup with another road game against the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon.

After collecting his first triple-double in a Sixers uniform, Harden mentioned he couldn’t wait to get to his new home to play in front of the Philadelphia crowd for the first time. “The crowd, it’s gonna be turnt in there,” Harden said following Sunday’s game. “And I’m ready for it.”

Roughly an hour before the Sixers and the Knicks tipped off for their rematch on Wednesday. Harden took the floor for his first pregame warmup session. To no surprise, he was met with cheers as the more crowded than usual arena waited impatiently for him to take the floor for the first time during the early stages of the evening.

Eventually, Harden and the Sixers tipped off and got to work. In his first nine minutes of action, Harden went 2-5 from the field and 1-3 from the free-throw line. He contributed to six of Philadelphia’s 25 first-quarter points. 

Despite the Sixers getting off to a slow start, Harden kept his team afloat in the second quarter as he went 5-6 from the field and scored 13 points in nine minutes. After the game, Harden admitted his team simply started slow, which contributed to them trailing by seven at halftime.

“I think we started off slow -- especially in that first half for whatever reason -- but in the second half, we picked it up,” Harden explained. “We were more aggressive on both ends of the ball, and we played our brand of basketball.”

In the third quarter, the Sixers rallied as they outscored the Knicks 38-19. Harden contributed to five points in eight minutes. As the 76ers started to pull away heading into the fourth quarter, Harden just had to turn into a facilitator as they were on the road to dominate the Knicks for the second game in a row. 

Harden wrapped up the night with 26 points in 35 minutes. He also contributed to nine rebounds and nine assists in his first performance in front of the Philly crowd as a member of the Sixers. 

“It was great, man,” said Harden. “Just the excitement from the beginning of the game. You know, I felt the energy. I felt the love. So, I just wanted to come out here and show my love back. I just wanted to play well on both ends of the ball and ultimately get the win.”

Harden and the Sixers dominated the Knicks once again as they won 123-108 at home on Wednesday. With that victory, Harden and the Sixers advance to 38-23 on the year as they look ahead to another home matchup on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.