Harden: ‘Same shots, I just made some’
PHILADELPHIA » The outside noise was there before 32-year-old James Harden got back to Philadelphia, the Sixers down two games in their second-round best-of-seven series with the Miami Heat. Too old. Done, like toast. But Harden turned back the clock Sunday, scoring 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Sixers to a 116-108 victory over the Heat, thereby knotting the series at 2-2 entering Game 5 Tuesday night in Miami.
“I just took what the defense gave me,” Harden said. “Same shots, I just made some. That’s the only thing that changed, man, I made some shots. Obviously, that’s a game changer. Just being aggressive.”
Joel Embiid scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds despite tiring in the second half. The big guy tallied 15 to spark the Sixers in
the first quarter. He also did a decent job shutting down the lane in the final frame. Jimmy Butler scored just eight of his 40 points in the fourth quarter after lighting them up and cutting the deficit to three points in the third quarter.
“We’re getting more confident
as the series goes on,” Harden said. “Those first two games were a blur. Obviously, having Jo and having our full team we kind of know what to expect. We know how to execute at both ends of the floor. It just makes the job a lot easier.
“Think about it. We’re still a fairly new team. We’re finally settling into the series and we found some good things that we can capitalize on.”
Beyond Butler, the Heat struggled mightily from the field as they made just 7-of35 three-point attempts. The Sixers ran several defenders at Butler, starting with Danny Green, who sat down early with four fouls. Tobias Harris got five fouls. Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey and even Harden took turns defending Butler.
“I mean, he had 40,” said Maxey (18 points). “We did what we had to.”
The series wouldn’t be deadlocked without Harden, who got the Sixers to execute the spacing on offense coach Doc Rivers lectured about at the intermission.
“That’s the reason he’s here, that’s why we brought him here,” Embiid said of Harden. “We are far from playing our best basketball. So, that’s the encouraging thing.”