With the way the NBA game slows down late in the postseason, perimeter scoring becomes more important than ever. It just feels so Sixers that those performances sandwiched two disaster classes. In his time as a starter, Harden's 14.3 shooting percentage in Game 2 was the third-worst mark in his postseason career.Īs I said, if you asked a Sixers fan going into this series if they'd take a 2-2 split early that included not one, but two Harden 40-point outings, they'd take that in a heartbeat. The other painful games came from Andre Iguodala in Game 5 against the Bulls in the first round of the 2012 playoffs and Robert Covington in a first-round matchup with the Heat in 2018 ( via Stahead). Going 0-for-6 from deep while shooting 14 baskets and coming up with just 12 points? It's only the third time it's happened in team playoff history. Stats that put James Harden's instant-classic Game 1 into contextĬonversely, Harden was throwing up brick after brick in Games 2 and 3.Instant observations: James Harden saves Sixers in wild Game 4 vs.Quick Six: The gospel song that saved James Harden and the Sixers' season.The only Sixers to drop at least 42 points and make at least six threes in a playoff game? Harden in Game 4, Harden in Game 1, and Iverson back in Game 5 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals against Toronto ( via Stahead). The same is true for that Game 4 flamethrower. No Sixer has had a night like that in the postseason other than Allen Iverson. I wrote about his numbers from his incredible Game 1 performance last week. During his Rockets tenure, Houston lost in the Western Conference Semifinals or Finals five different times, plus three other first-round flameouts. Game 4: 42 points (16/23 FGA, 6/9 3PA), 1-point winĪfter a spirited run to the 2012 NBA Finals with the Thunder, Harden's playoff woes were on full display in his days in Houston.Let's look at Harden's stat lines for this series thus far. Depending on how Game 4 bounced for the Sixers, Harden could've either "won" or "lost" this week, but with yet another 40-point effort on Sunday, I'm giving Uno the nod here. Going into Sunday with the Phillies on the verge of being swept for the second time this week and the Sixers staring down a 3-1 hole to Boston, I wondered if I'd even write this article, perhaps skipping it entirely because of how barren the landscape was. It's simple stuff!Įvery week here on PhillyVoice, I pick a sports figure who "won the week" in the city's sports scene. If he doesn't, sinking to the lows he's become infamous for in his postseason career, it gets ugly. If Harden plays well, even taking on the lead dog Batman role more so than MVP Joel Embiid, the Sixers win. Nevertheless, the Sixers are tied 2-2 against the Celtics heading into a decisive Game 5 on Tuesday night, a spot I didn't expect them at all to be in and I'm certainly not alone there. Harden, or "Uno" as Twitter has taken to calling him this series, has given the Sixers everything and nothing against Boston, turning in two of the best playoffs games I've ever seen from a Sixer as well as two absolute clunkers that defy reality for a future Hall of Famer of Harden's caliber. James Harden giveth and James Harden taketh away.
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