Philadelphia 76ers’ coach Doc Rivers sent a gospel song to star guard James Harden to remind him of who he is before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics. The song’s title is “You Know My Name?” and lasted for seven minutes. Harden played the song and felt the good ju-ju in it, which seemed to have worked in his favor.
Harden Leads Philadelphia to Victory
Harden had his worst consecutive shooting games of his career in Games 2 and 3, but in Game 4, he finished with 42 points, including eight rebounds, nine assists, four steals, a block, and just one turnover in 47 minutes. Harden hit the tying shot in the closing seconds of regulation before burying a corner 3-pointer with 19 seconds to go, leading Philadelphia to a stunning 116-115 overtime victory Sunday.
Philadelphia Headed to Boston
After Sunday’s win, the series is now tied at two games apiece, and the teams head back to Boston for Game 5. In Game 1, Harden poured in 45 points to lead Philadelphia to a win without Joel Embiid. However, in Games 2 and 3, he combined to shoot 5-for-28 from the field, which was the worst two-game shooting performance of his career.
76ers Survive Boston’s Comeback
Boston took a five-point lead on Malcolm Brogdon’s 3-pointer with over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, after Philadelphia led by as many as 16. However, the 76ers found a way to survive. Harden buried a runner to tie the game with 15 seconds to go in regulation, and Marcus Smart missed a potential winning 3 at the buzzer. Harden’s go-ahead 3 in overtime came off a terrifically designed out-of-timeout play by Rivers that got Embiid matched up with Jayson Tatum inside, causing Jaylen Brown to react with a double-team that left Harden wide open in the corner.
“Our goal is to go to Boston and win,” said Embiid. “I’ll be better. We just have to go out and find a win and come back here up 3-2.”
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