After a heart-stopping finish, the Philadelphia 76ers have managed to make it 2-2 in the tie against Boston. And it is difficult to find someone responsible for such a thing happening other than James Harden. La Barba was the undisputed hero of those from Pennsylvania in their 116-115 victory in Game 4, and, as usual in the series, he once again confirmed himself as the man who can make a difference, for better and for worse. . And he today he came out expensive.
James finished the game with 42 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and countless important baskets. With 21 goals at the break, he made it clear from the start that he wanted to make up for his previous two poor performances, but it was his way of finishing it off that he really did. In a last quarter in which Joel Embiid was devoured by Horford’s defense, it was the guard who took the defibrillator and gave the necessary shakes to some 76ers on the verge of collapse, leaving in clinical death what for a few minutes seemed destined to become a funeral
And it is that, after winning by 16 points and dominating practically the entire night, the arrival of the fourth period paralyzed the locals until they made them throw everything they had built to the ground. Doc Rives’ men were stubborn in attacking Embiid by clearing, who once again was not able to choose well when a second defender arrived and was not even able to be effective one-on-one. Horford completely annulled him and with it some 76ers who insisted again and again on shooting with a gun that was seen to be jammed. And that, after a triple from Brogdon that made it 100-105 with two minutes to go, they seemed to say goodbye to their options.
A heroic closing
It has been said a thousand times about Harden, and not without reason, that the playoffs were choking him and that in the decisive games it was unusual to find his best version. And in a way, it’s like he wants to use this series to silence those critics.
With the team on the verge of going 3-1 in what would have felt like the end of the series, Harden responded by scoring all of his team’s baskets in the last 4 minutes except for one by PJ Tucker off an offensive rebound, making his teammates react when Boston seemed close to victory. And of course, it was he who scored the floater that made it 107-107 with 16.4 seconds remaining, a result with which the duel would go to extra time after Marcus Smart missed the triple on the buzzer that could have prevented it. .
In overtime, he fully assumed the duties of bandleader, even helping Embiid get back into the game with some pick & roll action and drawing the attention of the defense to create for his teammates. But when push came to shove, with less than 20 seconds remaining and the Celtics leading by two points, he had to take the shot. Embiid read the help of Jaylen Brown well and doubled the ball to James, who, this time from the corner, scored another triple that was worth a game for Philadelphia and once again unbalanced a series that is being another when this version does not appear.
A few tenths from 3-1
However, Boston still had one possession left after Harden’s triple, a possession that was very close to radically changing the end of the game. After letting the clock run a bit, Jayson Tatum went towards the hoop looking for a layup with which to put his team ahead again, but the arrival of Embiid’s help made him choose to take the ball to Smart, who this time He did not forgive from the triple. But this time it was of no use.
Tatum managed the attack poorly, because by letting the seconds pass before starting the action, he barely had time for anything other than his own launch. When he took the ball to Marcus, he received it without time to shoot, and although his three-pointer froze for a few seconds at the Wells Fargo Center, he soon burst into joy when he verified on the replay of the video scoreboard that the action was invalidated.
Tatum was therefore unable to put the icing on the cake in a match in which he was exemplary for his way of going from less to more and recovering from a bad start. The forward started missing his first eight shots to the basket, but he never stopped being efficient in other facets and was key in aspects such as rebounding, where he added 18 sacks, or defense, where he placed four blocks, several of them in the decisive stretch . In addition, his offensive success began to appear as the minutes progressed and, with 24 goals, he actually ended up as the visiting top scorer, including some baskets in the clutch like the triple that made it 113-115 in the last minute of overtime.
His last action, however, was much less lucid, an aspect in which Mazzulla’s decision not to call a timeout to organize a slate play also drew attention. The coach did not stop the game either in regulation time or in extra time, leaving his team to improvise two actions in which they left empty.
(Cover photo: Tim Nwacukwu/Getty Images)
2023-05-07 22:37:58
#Harden #resurrects #76ers
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