James Harden’s second 40-point game of the Semifinals could not have come at a better time for the Philadelphia 76ers. After struggling from the field in Games 2 & 3, following his 45-point opener in Game 1, Harden was firing on all cylinders in the first half - he made excellent decisions with the ball and was very efficient attacking from all three levels on the floor.
After hitting a couple of early jumpers from mid & long-range, Harden was able to mix it up effectively, without forcing the issue, the rest of the night. After a late, Boston charge to send it into overtime, Harden (eventually) found himself with an opportunity to give Philly the lead (and even the series) with under 20 seconds left on the clock.
He reeled in a beautiful read (out of the double team) by Joel Embiid and canned an open, corner triple to put PHI ahead, 116-115. Marcus Smart countered with a three of his own - at the final buzzer - but didn’t get the shot off in time to win the game.
Yeah…this series just got a lot more interesting.
All of the pressure is now on Boston as we head into Game 6.