What 76ers Had to Say About James Harden’s Game 1 vs. Celtics

With Joel Embiid out for the start of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Boston Celtics, somebody had to step up in a big way. Sixers guard James Harden mentioned he was up for the challenge going into Game 1.

“[I got to] be more aggressive for sure,” Harden said before the Sixers left for Boston. “Be more aggressive. We got to generate points. So, just get to the basket, shoot my shot, and just be more aggressive.”

To say Harden was aggressive in Game 1 is an understatement. Through the first 12 minutes of action, he took ten of the Sixers’ 26 shots, scoring on 70 percent of his attempts.

Through the first half of action, Harden had 21 points in fewer than 20 minutes of playing time. He helped with his team’s defensive struggles by nearly matching Boston’s scoring attack.

Harden’s first-half performance was impressive, but his fourth-quarter showing was nothing short of phenomenal. In the final ten minutes he spent on the court, Harden hit on all but two of his seven shots from the field. He drained several threes, scoring 15 points.

“He was awesome,” Doc Rivers told reporters after the game. “He kept his cool, knew when to attack, knew when to give it up. I thought he had great patience overall.”

“In the fourth quarter, we always know James will come up with something, so we were real confident,” Melton added. “Especially when Big Fella went down, he had to step up. So I think he’s always done that throughout the year. He doesn’t get enough credit for his leadership and his fourth-quarter performance. We got faith in him. We understand he’s gonna make the right play for us and take us to victory.”

In a game where the Sixers were expected to come up short without their MVP-caliber center, Harden reminded everybody that there is another level to his game that he’s tapped into more often than not throughout his career when he was the focal point of a team’s offense.

“He has a huge amount of confidence in his game and what he works on,” Tobias Harris claimed. “He’s been doing it for so long, and it was an amazing time to come out and just dominate. He dominated the whole game and carried us to victory. It was a team effort, but he did an amazing job of having his composure throughout the game to help us win.”

Harden finished Monday’s game by tying his playoff career-high, producing 45 points in 39 minutes. He also dished out six assists in the process.

With a 119-115 victory, the Sixers took Game 1 on the road even in the absence of the All-Star big man. Harden, and the Sixers hope to find similar success in Game 2 before the series makes its way to South Philadelphia on Friday.