James Harden, Joel Embiid Lead 76ers to Game 4 Win vs. Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers were only trailing 2-1 heading into their Game 4 matchup against the Boston Celtics on Sunday, but they understood that the matchup posed as a must-win game.

As the Sixers wanted to avoid dropping to 1-3 before heading back to Boston, they did all they could to even the series and collect a win at home before hitting the road for the second time this series.

Sixers guard James Harden struggled to make an offensive impact in the last two games. Taking 28 shots between Games 2 and 3, Harden drained just five of his attempts. The shooting struggles came as a shock, considering Harden’s 45-point outing in Game 1 was key to the Sixers collecting an upset victory to begin the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Ahead of Game 4, Sixers center Joel Embiid urged Harden to remain aggressive heading into Sunday’s game. After getting a day off to review the film and re-group, Harden answered the call.

Through the first half of action on Sunday, the Sixers garnered a nine-point lead while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. Harden was highly-efficient from the field, knocking down all but three of his 11 attempts from the field for 21 points in 21 minutes.

The veteran star didn’t slow down in the second half. Spending 21 more minutes on the court between the third and fourth quarter, Harden knocked down seven of his nine shots from the field, producing 18 points.

His 12-foot floater with 16 seconds left to go in the fourth quarter was the tying shot that helped the Sixers send the game into overtime.

“That’s what he needs to do every night,” Embiid said of Harden after the game. “Don’t think about anything. Obviously, we got some great teammates that can do a lot of things, but like I said the other night — it doesn’t matter what’s going on, players got to show up.”

Harden knocked down 16 of his 23 shots from the field and went 4-4 from the charity stripe. His final fourth-quarter attempt forced overtime, while his final shot of the game sealed the deal for a Sixers win. Overall, Harden finished the matchup with 42 points in 47 minutes.

“I just want to win,” Harden said. “No matter how — I just want to win. We found a way to win, and that’s all that matters in the postseason.”

Was Harden’s struggles over the last two games added motivation going into a must-win Game 4 matchup in South Philly?

“I’m always motivated and fired up,” Harden claimed. “Just things don’t work out how I like them to, but it’s a part of it. I’m always a competitor. I always want to win. I always want to do things to contribute to winning. That’s just me. There are no days off with that. It’s no turning it on and turning it off with that. Whether I have 40-something or 18, I always want to win the game. It’s simple.”

Harden helped lead the Sixers to a 116-115 victory in overtime. The MVP, Joel Embiid, helped the cause as he scored 34 points in 46 minutes of action. With that win, the Sixers tie up the series 2-2 and are set to pay a visit to the Celtics on Tuesday night. `