The Philadelphia 76ers evened their second-round series with the Boston Celtics in stunning fashion on Sunday afternoon with a 116-115 overtime win in Game 4. James Harden hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, though it only stood as such because a 3-pointer made by Marcus Smart as the buzzer sounded came a split-second too late to win the game for the Celtics.
Harden, who was coming off two poor showings in Games 2 and 3, finished with 42 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and four steals in one of the best postseason performances of his career. Joel Embiid, meanwhile, added 34 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Those two were boosted by 14 points from Tyrese Maxey and 18 combined points from Georges Niang and Tobias Harris.
The Celtics could not find a rhythm for most of the day, but showed a lot of heart to come back and take the lead in the fourth quarter. But ultimately, they couldn’t find enough points in crunch time or overtime, which has been an issue for them for many seasons now. Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and four blocks to lead the way, while Jaylen Brown added 23 points and Marcus Smart chipped in 21 of his own.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
Harden delivers
James Harden has had a strange series. He was unbelievable in Game 1 to will the Sixers to a win on the road without Joel Embiid, then may as well have not played in Games 2 and 3. Then, all of a sudden, he flipped the switch again and was amazing in Game 4.
The Sixers would obviously prefer some more consistency from Harden, but they won’t be complaining on Sunday after he poured in 42 points and added eight rebounds, nine assists and four steals. In the process, he became the first Sixers player to have multiple 40-point games in a single postseason since Allen Iverson in 2003.
Then, of course, there was the game-winner. With less than 30 seconds to play, the Celtics were clinging to a two-point lead and Joel Embiid tried to bully his way into the paint. For some reason, Jaylen Brown came to double him (more on that in a bit), leaving Harden wide open in the corner. Embiid found Harden, who buried the shot to give the Sixers the lead, and eventually the win.
Celtics can’t make enough plays down the stretch
The Celtics were out of sorts for much of the game, but dominated the fourth quarter to get back in the game. In fact, they held leads in the final minutes of both regulation and overtime, and probably should have stolen this one from the Sixers, but they couldn’t quite make enough plays down the stretch.
Here’s a quick run through of some of the biggest moments:
- 1:06 of regulation: Can’t get a rebound
With just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter, the Celtics forced Tobias Harris into a tough mid-range shot, which he airballed. However, they could not secure the rebound, and PJ Tucker not only found the loose ball but turned it into an and-one to tie the game.
- 3:08 of overtime: Again, can’t get a rebound
After Marcus Smart converted an and-one, the Celtics had a three-point lead in the middle of overtime, but again got burned because they couldn’t rebound. They forced Embiid into a deep heave to beat the shot clock, but couldn’t finish the possession. Then, Harden missed a step-back 3 and again the Sixers got it back. Eventually, Embiid made them pay with a bucket to make it a one-point game.
- 0:19 of overtime: Brown doubles on Embiid
As the clock ticked under 30 seconds, the Celtics were up by two and needed just one stop to put themselves in full control. The Sixers, to little surprise, gave the ball to Embiid, which wasn’t a bad situation for the Celtics. Embiid was out of gas and struggling to score, and even if he made a bucket in the paint, the Celtics would have the final possession and, at worst, go to double overtime. But for some reason, Brown helped off the strong side corner, leaving Harden wide open for the game-winning 3.
- 0:00 of overtime: No timeout on the final possession
Joe Mazzulla has long been a proponent of not calling timeouts, so it was no surprise that he opted to let his team play after Harden’s go-ahead 3. However, once he saw how slowly his team was moving, he needed to take one to set up a play. Harden’s shot went in with 19 seconds left, and yet Tatum didn’t start his drive on the final possession until four seconds to play. As a result, they ultimately ran out of time. That can’t happen, and while the players are at fault as well for wasting so much time, Mazzulla needs to take control of that situation as the coach.