Harden’s return to form key for 76ers
James Harden took a sensational step forward in the postseason for the 76ers with step-back 3s that rekindled his dominant form. Joel Embiid is playing better by the game, and the MVP finalist might have his best basketball ahead.
Embiid is ready. So is Harden. And if the Heat can’t figure out The Mask and The Beard, the next thing they face could be the offseason.
“I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball,” Embiid said.
Harden scored 31 points, Embiid had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the fourthseeded 76ers beat the top-seeded Heat 116-108 on Sunday night in Game 4 to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Heat won the first two games in Miami with Embiid out with a right orbital fracture and mild concussion. The 76ers won Games 3 and 4 at home with Embiid and his mask in the lineup. Game 5 is Tuesday in Miami. The Heat pecked away at the lead and got within five until Harden sank his fifth 3-pointer with three minutes left. Harden crushed the Heat on catch-and-shoot 3s and hit one clutch shot after another for 16 points in the fourth. He at last played in the postseason like the three-time scoring champ the 76ers needed when they traded for him in February.
“Nothing really changed. I just made shots,” he said. Harden drilled a step-back 3 for a 114-103 lead that sent the crowd into a frenzy — and the 76ers off to Miami with new life. He had six 3s, nine assists and seven rebounds.
“It’s just James being James,” Rivers said. “I felt like he was going to have a big game tonight. You can just sense it.”
Embiid worked out the Game 3 cobwebs and returned to the dominant form that earned him season-long “MVP!” chants from the Philly diehards.
Need for special section? Suns coach Monty Williams said the NBA should consider having a special section in the stands reserved for the families of visiting teams in the wake of Chris Paul’s family being harassed during Sunday’s playoff game in Dallas.
The incident happened during Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Mavericks and Suns.
ESPN reported that members of Paul’s family had been harassed by fans and that some in the crowd made physical contact with them. The Mavericks said the fan was ejected.
“It’s a hard one, because it’s happening more and more,” Williams said Monday at Suns practice. “The situations are getting to a place now where I really feel like families, who are there to support their loved ones, need to be protected a bit more. Whether or not we have to give these people a section, a suite, something has to be done.
“Because we can’t wait for it to get to a level or two higher, before we do what we need to do. Yesterday was unnecessary.”
The Mavericks said after the game that they were aware of the incident between a fan and Paul’s family at American Airlines Center.
“It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated,” the Mavericks said in a statement. “The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today’s game.”
After the game, Paul tweeted: “Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families ...” He also added an expletive.
Suns forward Cam Johnson said a similar situation happened in Milwaukee last season during the NBA Finals when his girlfriend was hit in the back of the head and had beer spilled on her.
Johnson said security in Milwaukee handled the situation and that the fan was kicked out of the game. He said security can only do so much to keep families safe.
“A large part of the responsibility has to be on fans,” Johnson said. “They just can’t act that way.”