James Harden discusses go-ahead shot over Al Horford in Game 1 win
BOSTON–The Philadelphia 76ers were in TD Garden. Staring at a possible Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics after Jayson Tatum hit two free throws to give Boston a 115-114 lead with 26.1 seconds left and Philadelphia missing Joel Embiid.
They put the ball in the hands of their future Hall of Fame point guard and told him go make a play. James Harden stared down Al Horford off a switch, rocked him back a bit with his patented between-the-legs dribble, and he drilled a go-ahead triple with 8.4 seconds left.
The Sixers then got a huge stop and they went on to win Game 1 by a score of 119-115 without Embiid and stun the Celtics.
“I think PJ (Tucker) set the screen and I came off the screen and I was wondering if they were going to put two on the ball,” Harden said afterward. “So when they cross-screened, I pulled the ball back out, they just stayed on me one-on-one, so then I’m looking up and I’m just ‘Alright, this is what I work on every day’ so I take the best available shot no matter what it is. Just raise up and shoot it.”
James Harden on the go-ahead shot over Al Horford #Sixers pic.twitter.com/3Xo8wif3i3
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) May 2, 2023
This performance by Harden, which saw him tie his career playoff high with 45 points was extremely impressive considering it was in Boston and the Sixers were missing the likely MVP winner in Embiid.
“We didn’t come into the game expecting to lose,” Harden laughed. “We’re here to win. Even after this one, I told guys don’t get too happy. We’re even-keeled. We’re coming in here to get Game 2 as well. That’s the mindset we have as a unit and whether Jo comes back or not, we’re gonna be ready to go.”
With that being said, obviously, missing Embiid is a big issue that Philadelphia will have to continue to overcome, but the Sixers feel they have enough to win games right now until he can return. Monday was a perfect example of that.
“Obviously, he’s everything to this team, but whoever’s on the floor, let’s go win a game,” Harden finished. “That’s what we did tonight.”
