Celtics Pay Respect to James Harden for Game 4 Performance

Although MVP-caliber performances in the scoring department might not come as frequently for James Harden on the Philadelphia 76ers, the ten-time All-Star has proven time and time again that he’s capable of putting the team on his back when needed.

Harden did it in Game 1 of the second-round series against the Boston Celtics as he dropped 45 points in the absence of Joel Embiid to lead the Sixers to victory.

On Sunday, Harden once again took his offensive performance to another level, which helped the Sixers secure a Game 4 victory, tying the series up 2-2.

“I just want to win,” Harden said after Sunday’s game. “No matter how it plays out. I just want to win. And quite frankly, today was a do-or-die for us. We found a way to win, and that’s all that matters in the postseason.”

During the Sixers’ two losses against the Celtics, Harden had some of the worst postseason showings of his career. Between two games, he drained just five shots. And in a critical Game 3, where the Sixers could’ve taken the series lead, Harden scored just 16 points on 3-14 shooting and turned the ball over five times.

The Celtics couldn’t bank on a third-straight game where Harden struggled. At some point, the star guard would have to find his rhythm, and Game 4 was his moment.

“He's a great player, and he's gonna bounce back,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game on Sunday. “He's gonna do something. I thought we did a better job in the second half with our physicality. I thought in the first half he kind of got to his spots where he wanted to go.”

“He's a good player, he's one of the best players in this league, and he's been doing this for a long time,” Marcus Smart added. “We expected him to come out just like he did, aggressive. Then shots started falling for him, and he was feeling good.”

Harden checked in for 47 minutes during the Sixers’ overtime thriller. Putting up 23 shots, the veteran guard knocked down 16 of his attempts and hit on six shots from beyond the arc. His final floater in the fourth quarter was the tying basket to send the game into overtime.

Then Harden’s corner three during the final seconds of overtime gave the Sixers enough to garner a one-point lead before the Celtics had an unsuccessful final possession.

“We were switching at that point,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum explained while discussing Harden’s final shot. “We were up two with 20-something seconds left. We wanted to not give up any threes and not foul and you know they scored. Things like that happen, unfortunately.”

“Just a bad read,” said Jaylen Brown, who left Harden enough space to get a comfortable shot off. “I said it's a gamble at the wrong time. Big shot by James Harden, but that's my fault. You know, I take full accountability. Just a bad read.”

Harden ended Game 4 with 42 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, four steals, and one block. After accounting for over 30 percent of the Sixers’ turnovers in Game 3, Harden lost possession of the ball just once in nearly 50 minutes of action on Sunday.

Consistency will be key for Harden moving forward, but the Celtics know they can’t sleep on his abilities as The Beard seems to have his groove back.