Harden's Impressive Performance Not Enough for Sixers to Beat Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers looked to end last week on a high note in Phoenix. As they had three-straight wins with victories over the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sixers ended their West Coast road trip with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

For a majority of the matchup, the Sixers were in control. When it came to crunch time, though, the Suns took the wheel. Eventually, a tight and competitive matchup turned into a double-digit victory for the Suns, who remained hot and issued the Sixers their first loss in a week.

Two nights later, the Sixers returned to South Philly and faced their Eastern Conference rival, the Milwaukee Bucks, for the third time this year. 

Before the All-Star break, the Sixers paid a visit to Milwaukee without James Harden on the floor. Joel Embiid and his squad managed to take down the Bucks with a 123-120 victory. On Tuesday, when the Sixers welcomed the Bucks back to town, they attempted to get back in the winner’s column against the defending champions.

Like always, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks issued the Sixers a problematic matchup. In order for the 76ers to win on Tuesday, they needed the stars to come out and play a near-perfect game. And they needed to be excellent from start to finish in order to avoid falling into the same hole as Sunday’s game against the NBA Finals runner-ups.

Harden Hits His Stride

For eight-straight games, James Harden struggled from the field. Last Friday against the Clippers, Harden looked like he was finally beginning to get back on track as he scored a team-high of 29 points in Philadelphia’s blowout win over the Clippers.

But then Harden followed up last Friday’s game with a rough showing against Phoenix on Sunday. In nearly 40 minutes of action, Harden shot just 2-11 from the field. He finished the matchup with 14 points, and eight of his points came from the charity stripe.

While Harden’s been more cold than hot lately, a productive discussion with Doc Rivers before Tuesday’s game led Harden to play aggressive against the Bucks as he got back on track.

In the first quarter, Doc Rivers couldn’t take Harden off the floor. As he checked in for the entire quarter, Harden went 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from the free-throw line, totaling for 12 points. 

By the end of the first half, Harden had collected 16 points in 18 minutes. Despite his recent struggles from the field, the star guard was efficient from the field early on Tuesday as he knocked down five of his seven shots from the field and hit on 50-percent of his threes.

In the second half, Harden kept his foot on the gas. He played the entire third quarter to start and hit on three field goals and six free throws. In a rather rough quarter for the Sixers, Harden kept them alive as he scored 13 of their 28 third-quarter points.

Harden’s fourth quarter showing wasn’t his sharpest as he collected just three points in six minutes. Overall, his performance was impressive as he scored a team-high of 32 points in 37 minutes. While Harden has to show some consistency, his Tuesday night showing was inspiring for Philly.

Coming Alive in the Second Half

Joel Embiid looked rough to start Tuesday’s game. Typically, Harden and Embiid are a dynamic duo and are on the same page in terms of scoring. For Embiid, though, his shot was not falling early.

In his first ten minutes on the floor, Embiid missed all but one of his six shots. He wrapped up the first quarter with just two of Philadelphia’s 24 points.

For a majority of his second-quarter minutes, Embiid’s struggles continued. But a little before the half, the All-Star big man started to turn his performance around. And just like that, Embiid was back as he collected 11 points in nine minutes as the Sixers rallied with 37 points before halftime. 

After going just 4-11 in his first 19 minutes on the floor, Embiid was nearly perfect on offense in the third quarter. He drilled all four of his shots from the field, but missed the lone free throw he attempted. Embiid scored eight points in nine minutes as the Bucks and the Sixers remained neck and neck throughout the third quarter.

When the fourth quarter rolled around, Embiid made some tough shots for his team. As he got the nod to check in earlier than usual, Embiid was a man on a mission as he hit on both of his attempted threes. In a little under ten minutes, Embiid collected eight points and six rebounds. While he nearly led the Sixers to victory, Embiid committed a crucial turnover down the stretch. In addition, he failed to make the game-tying shot, which turned into a controversial call.

Block or No Block?

Joel Embiid came down with a key rebound after James Harden missed a 25-foot three-point jump shot. With one second left to go in the game, Embiid attempted a shot from point blank range, which was swatted by Antetokounmpo and sent flying out of bounds.

However, the referees didn’t initially consider it a block. Instead, the Sixers were fortunate to hear that Antetokounmpo’s tough defensive play was a goaltend. Therefore the game was tied up at 118.

Considering it was such a close call, the referees decided to review the play. After a few minutes went by, the call was overturned. And just like that, the Sixers saw their two points get erased and instead of getting the ball back on their end with one second left, the Sixers and the Bucks were forced to tip-off. 

While Embiid won the tip-off and smacked the ball back into James Harden’s possession, there wasn’t nearly enough time for the ten-time All-Star to launch a half-court shot. Therefore, the Sixers wrapped up Tuesday’s game with a 118-116 loss to the defending champs.

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