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Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden knew that Game 4 against the Boston Celtics was a must-win affair.
After taking the first game of the series without Joel Embiid, the Sixers gave home-court advantage back to the Celtics with a Game 3 loss and were staring at the prospect of going down three games to one on May 7 before Harden took over.
After the Celtics stormed back from a 15-point deficit to take a late lead, the former league MVP hit a floater with 16 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Harden then hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in the extra frame to give the Sixers a 116-115 victory.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Harden said he treated it like an elimination game.
“I just want to win,” Harden said, via The Associated Press. “Today was do-or-die for us.”
James Harden, Sixers React to Gritty Win
The Sixers appeared to be in control early in Sunday’s game, taking a 15-point lead into the third quarter before watching it evaporate thanks to a Celtics run. Boston then built its lead to 98-90 in the fourth quarter before the Sixers launched their own comeback, culminating when veteran P.J. Tucker made a putback basket and drew a foul with 1:05 remaining, tying the game.
Harden said after the game that he was confident he would bounce back from two poor performances in Games 2 and 3, when he went just 5 of 28 from the field.
“I mean, I’m always motivated and fired up,” Harden said, via The Athletic. “It’s just things didn’t work out how I would like it to, but it’s a part of it. But I’m a competitor. I always want to win, I always want to be aggressive.”
Sixers coach Doc Rivers said after the game there should have been no need for Harden’s overtime heroics, saying Celtics star Jayson Tatum pushed off on a step-back 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 115-113 lead late in overtime.
“Jayson Tatum’s 3 was awful that (a push-off) wasn’t called,” Rivers said, via The Associated Press. “You’ve got to call that play. I know it’s a big play and I’m a big fan of refs not deciding (the game) but it could have decided the game.”
P.J. Tucker Played Important Role in Sixers’ Win
Aside from his game-tying play with close to one minute remaining, Tucker also played an important role in motivating his teammates. Before making the final free throw, Tucker could be seen speaking to Sixers big man Joel Embiid. After the game, Embiid said the veteran big man was giving him some motivation to get past the offensive struggles that dogged him for the final stretch of the game.
“He just got on me, he said I need to be me… that was when I found myself together, you know, started thinking how to attack them best, like I was doing in the first quarter…” Embiid said, via SI.com’s All 76ers. “He just got on me about going back to myself and being aggressive.”
Tucker added that he felt the need to remind Embiid that the Celtics didn’t have anyone who could stop him on offense.
“Nobody can guard Joel one on one, there’s no way, I’m sorry, it’s no disrespect to Al [Horford] or anybody else,” Tucker said. “I’ve guarded him for a lot of years, when he’s aggressive and assertive, it’s impossible.”
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