Tim BontempsESPN
PHILADELPHIA — A past in the past, James Harden entered the playoffs with the Philadelphia 76ers having performed 21 video games together with his unutilized group, nonetheless acclimating to a unutilized order later arriving right here by means of a blockbuster midseason business.
On Saturday afternoon, Harden and the 76ers unfolded this past’s playoffs towards Harden’s impaired group, the Brooklyn Nets, and he couldn’t have appeared extra relaxed, completing with 23 issues and 13 assists in 36 mins in what become a 121-101 Philadelphia win to start what the 76ers hope can be a longer run thru this past’s playoffs.
“I thought that was one of his best games as a ‘catcher,'” 76ers teacher Document Rivers mentioned. “I thought he called a perfect game.”
The Nets, going through an important skill downside on this order later the midseason trades in February that despatched Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to Phoenix and Dallas, respectively, made it unclouded that their sport plan was once to do no matter they might to stock the ball out of Joel Embiid’s arms, and pressure Philadelphia’s alternative avid gamers to create performs — and, particularly, create photographs.
“I mean, he’s the MVP,” Harden mentioned of Embiid. “So it’s like, would you rather him score 40, or live with us making shots? Either way, it’s fine. We’ll be ready either way.”
No less than Saturday, each Harden and his 76ers teammates made plethora of them.
Philadelphia shot a staggering 21-for-43 from 3-point length, together with hitting 15 uncontested 3-point photographs, in keeping with ESPN’s Stats & Data analysis, its maximum in any postseason sport since ESPN started monitoring them within the 2013-14 playoffs. As well as, Philadelphia shot 68% of passes on this sport — the franchise’s second-highest proportion in a playoff sport since ESPN started monitoring that stat in 2014-15.
Rivers credited Embiid for his endurance within the first part, permitting the sport to come back to him — and his teammates to profit from the eye being paid to him, one thing Rivers mentioned Philadelphia had labored on all while in follow, and that he and the training personnel had mentioned with Embiid getting into the order.
“We worked on it all week,” Rivers mentioned. “I give Joel credit, because I thought especially early he was patient and we sold that to him. You are going to wind up with whatever amount of points no matter what happens. And that happened.
“However while you get started making everyone else higher, and we now have James making everyone else higher, it makes us a lovely excellent group.”
But while much of that attention was being paid to Embiid, who finished with 26 points — 16 of which came in the second half — it was Harden who was the one primarily leading the charge to take advantage of it.
“Simply looking to be competitive,” Harden said. “They’re double-teaming Joel, so any individual else has were given to attempt to create photographs and be competitive.
“Just put the work in, and you live with the results.”
Month Harden struggled within the arc, going 1-for-8 on 2-point photographs and getting a number of makes an attempt opposed on the rim, his patented step-back 3-pointer was once in high method, as he went 7-for-13 from deep — together with 5-for-7 within the first part abandoned.
That all set the level for Embiid to briefly assert keep watch over over the court cases within the 3rd quarter, when he scored 10 of his 26 issues as Philadelphia driven the top to double digits — a bonus that ballooned to as many as 25 within the fourth quarter.
It was once, general, an notable begin to Philadelphia’s quest to create it to a minimum of the Jap Convention finals for the primary day since 2001. However Embiid, who was once named a finalist for the NBA’s Maximum Worthy Participant award for a 3rd instantly season Friday, mentioned that it was once impressive no longer just for Harden to proceed to be what Embiid has persistently been because the NBA’s highest playmaker, however to proceed being competitive attacking the rim — even if, as he did within the first part Saturday, he has photographs opposed or fails to attain, on account of the way it affects the opposing group’s protection.
“Like I’ve said, he’s the best playmaker in the league, by far,” Embiid mentioned of Harden, “but we don’t want him settling. I don’t want him to fall in love with just that. We need him to be aggressive, and he was today.
“I believe that’s the important thing — no longer simply being a playmaker, simply being competitive, going downhill and developing for himself and everybody else.”
Brooklyn hung around thanks to its own impressive shooting performance, shooting 55% overall and 13-for-29 from 3-point range led by the latest scintillating performance from former Villanova star Mikal Bridges since he was acquired from Phoenix in the Durant trade, as he scored 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting.
But the Sixers took 19 more shots, thanks to forcing the Nets into 20 turnovers (which became 31 76ers points) while only committing nine themselves, and also enjoyed a 14-5 edge in offensive rebounding.
After the game, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn had a message for the officials for Game 2 here at Wells Fargo Center on Monday night after he felt Embiid got away with a few things in Saturday’s opening game of the series.
“Confidently they’ll be calling touring and defensive 3 seconds at the fat fella later sport,” Vaughn said. “So, I sit up for that.”
