Getty James Harden and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
After the Philadelphia 76ers tied up their series against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles Lakers legend, and NBA Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson called out Joel Embiid and James Harden for their play in helping the Sixers defeat the Celtics in Game 4.
“What a game! The Sixers beat the Celtics in overtime with a game-winning shot by James Harden. Harden finished 42 points and Embiid pitched in another 34 points,” Johnson said via his personal Twitter.
What a game! The Sixers beat the Celtics in overtime with a game winning shot by James Harden. Harden finished 42 points and Embiid pitched in another 34 points.
With the Game 4 win, the Sixers are now tied with the Celtics at 2 games apiece as the series heads back to Boston. The Sixers’ two wins in this series can be largely attributed to Harden’s individual performances in Games 1 and 4. Harden’s 45-point performance in Game 1 and 42-point performance in Game 4 made all the difference in how the Sixers overcame their division rival.
James Harden Sounds Off on Clutch Shot
It was Harden’s clutch three in overtime that pushed the Sixers over the Celtics to tie the series again.
JAMES HARDEN GAME WINNER.
Harden talked about what went down during the Sixers’ climactic play, praising Embiid for his role in facilitating the shot.
“We threw it into Joel, it was supposed to be a dribble hand-off where he dribble hand-off with me, but Jaylen Brown was denying me, and I didn’t wanna fight and fight it and let the clock run down, so I just gave Joel space to do what he did. He got so far in the paint that Jaylen Brown went to go help. Jo made an unbelievable pass and catch-and-shoot,” Harden said during his postgame press conference, per House of Highlights YouTube Channel.
Harden added that, above all else, he’s most concerned about winning, which is why he hopes the team will be ready for Game 5 in Boston.
“I just wanna win. Quite frankly, today (Sunday) was do-or-die for us. We found a way to win and that’s all that matters in the postseason, so watch film, get better, and be ready and see some things that we can get better at and be ready to go for Game 5.”
Joel Embiid Calls for Consistency From James Harden
Following Harden’s performance, Embiid said that his star teammate will have to do that in every game, knowing what’s at stake in the postseason.
“That’s what (Harden) needs to do every night. Not think about anything. Obviously, we got some great teammates that can do a lot of things, but like I said the other night, players, doesn’t matter what is going on, players got to show up,” Embiid said during his postgame press conference, per House of Highlights YouTube Channel.
After acknowledging that Harden showed up for Game 4, Embiid reiterated the need for Harden to be consistent in this series, and what that entails.
“He needs to do it every night. It’s not about taking a lot of shots, it’s just about being aggressive, attacking the rim, finding guys, and he was fantastic,”
Though Harden has put up two 40-point performances in two games in this series, he also put up two inefficient performances in Games 2 and 3, in which he put up 12 points on two-for-14 shooting, then 16 points on three-for-14 shooting, respectively.