James Harden Takes Victory Lap in Brooklyn After Win vs. Nets

Going into his first game back in Brooklyn since forcing his way out of the Nets’ organization a year ago, James Harden claimed he didn’t know what to expect. Considering he played just 80 games with the Nets over the span of the two seasons before demanding a trade ahead of last year’s deadline, it wasn’t difficult to assume Harden would get a negative reaction from the home crowd on Saturday.

“I don’t know,” said Harden. “I’m there for one reason and one reason only… to win a basketball game.”

Winning the game was the goal for the night, as Harden and the Sixers wanted to create another win streak after taking down the New York Knicks on Friday night, breaking a two-game skid.

Saturday’s performance wasn’t necessarily perfect for the Sixers, who definitely looked like they were coming off of a back-to-back. Through the first half of action, the Sixers trailed 60-52. Going into the fourth quarter, they remained down on the scoreboard as they were facing a six-point deficit.

Fortunately for Philly, they held Brooklyn to just 37 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. As a result, the Sixers outscored the Nets 25-16 in the final quarter. The Sixers put the Nets away with a tight 101-98 win in Brooklyn.

James Harden faced a ton of boos throughout the night, but he wasn’t bothered. By no means was it his sharpest playmaking performance, but Harden still helped pave the way to victory for the Sixers, as he scored 29 points while producing six assists and collecting six rebounds.

After the game, the star guard got candid about his time in Brooklyn, unleashing thoughts he didn’t dive too deep into before, as the Nets are a much different team than they were one year ago.

Here’s what Harden had to say via ESPN:

"Yeah, there was," he said. "Like, a lot of things. But it was just a lot of dysfunction. Clearly. But it was a lot of internal things that I'm not going to ever just say, put in the media or anything. And that was one of the reasons why I chose to make my decision.

"But now, fast-forward to date, I don't look like the crazy one. I don't look like the guy or the quitter or whatever the media want to call me. I knew what was going on and I just decided to ... hey, I'm not built for this. I don't want to deal with that. I want to play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it. And fast-forward to today, they've got a whole new roster."

Harden received a lot of scrutiny for the way his tenure in Brooklyn ended. After the star guard forced his way out of the Houston Rockets’ organization to link up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the Nets, Harden was the first one to jump ship last season when he sensed something wasn’t right.

From the outside looking in, Harden looked like the villain. Over time, as the curtain slowly peeled back in Brooklyn, it became clear the organization was dealing with a lot of turmoil internally. The two other All-Stars of the trio, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, requested trades over the summer.

The Nets wouldn’t grant Irving and Durant their wishes as there were no deals they desired on the table. Brooklyn attempted to salvage a slow start to the 2022-2023 NBA season by firing now-former head coach Steve Nash, and the decision temporarily patched up some of their issues.

Winning didn’t cure all in Brooklyn, though. Despite the Nets climbing into the Eastern Conference’s top seeds, the stars remained unhappy. Irving wanted out and got a first-class ticket to join the Dallas Mavericks last week. Durant was next, as he was shipped off to the Phoenix Suns during the early hours of the trade deadline.

Saturday’s win in Brooklyn might not have been the revenge game Harden wanted, but it definitely seems like the one he needed, as he took a victory lap with his team’s win after the game.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.