Thursday night’s showdown between the Sixers and Nets was supposed to be a revenge game for James Harden. He was going to atone for his failed Brooklyn experiment by showing up on the biggest stage.
Amid the backdrop of Ben Simmons’ homecoming, that storyline kind of flew under the radar. Harden downplayed it heading into the game and once the lights turned on, the 10-time All-Star was nowhere to be found. He endured his worst performance in a Sixers’ uniform – 11 points on 3-of-17 shooting, plus four turnovers – and had no answers for Kyrie Irving’s suffocating defense. Following a 29-point loss, Harden attempted to put things in perspective.
“Missed shots. I think just missed shots,” Harden said when asked why they lost. “There’s no excuses. I got to be better individually, some turnovers where it was just careless. Individually I got to be better and then as a team we got to watch film to see where we can be better and just try to continue to improve. Like this only our sixth game together as a unit, I’m still trying to figure things out.”
Everything had been going swimmingly in his five previous contests. He had averaged 24.6 points and 12.4 assists per game as the Sixers rolled to five straight wins. Their average margin of victory was 16.6. According to Harden, losing in embarrassing fashion to Brooklyn was exactly what the team needed.
“Tonight was good for us,” Harden said. “We got our a** kicked and, you know, since I’ve been here everything has been sweet and we’ve been winning games. And so tonight was good for us, and we get an opportunity to come down to reality. Watch film and just continue to get better and making sure we hit the right strides.”
Kyrie Irving held him to 1-7 shooting as the primary defender in the 1st half.
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Harden Passes Reggie Miller on 3-Point List
One highlight for Harden during an otherwise forgettable night was his climb up the record books. The Sixers sniper drilled a 3-pointer with 6:58 showing in the first quarter to move him ahead of Reggie Miller and into third place on the all-time list. Harden would hit two more triples in the contest to give him 2,563 triples for his career.
Plus the awesome gesture from Reggie Miller at the end 👏 | @Wendys
Miller was actually calling the game for TNT on the national broadcast and celebrated Harden’s accomplishment by busting out a custom-made jersey. The touching tribute was shown on the Jumbotron. Miller and Harden shared a special moment behind closed doors after the final buzzer.
“I just saw him in the back. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment,” Harden said. “We all know how well Reggie shot the basketball, so just to be on that list is definitely a great accomplishment individually and, for me, I just got to continue to work hard and keep pushing.”
1️⃣ Stephen Curry — 3,102+ 2️⃣ Ray Allen — 2,973 3️⃣ James Harden — 2,561+ 4️⃣ Reggie Miller — 2,560 5️⃣ Kyle Korver — 2,450
@sixers | @JHarden13
Celebrating After Brutal Loss Frowned Upon
A video of Harden partying like a rock star on Thursday night went viral for all the wrong reasons. In it, the star guard is all smiles alongside rappers Travis Scott and Lil Baby in what appears to be a birthday celebration. Sparklers and cupcakes are being passed around.
(h/t @AhnFireDigital )
There is nothing wrong with the scene. At all. The problem people had with it was Harden’s enthusiasm following a 29-point loss to the Nets. SportsRadio 94WIP’s Howard Eskin called it a “sign of the times.” We’re not here to judge anyone.
Sixers Star Looking for Positives After Getting ‘A** Kicked’