James Harden scored a career playoff-high 45 points as the Philadelphia 76ers overcame the absence of Joel Embiid to stun the Boston Celtics in game one of their Eastern Conference semi-final series on Monday.
Sixers star Harden produced a magical performance — including a pivotal go-ahead three-pointer with 8.4 seconds remaining — to leave Boston’s TD Garden in stunned silence as the Sixers snatched a 119-115 victory.
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The battling road win came with Sixers talisman Embiid looking on from the bench after being ruled out shortly before tip-off after failing to recover from a sprained knee sustained during the first round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets.
Harden’s 45-point haul came from 17-of-30 shooting and included seven three-pointers.
Tyrese Maxey provided offensive support with 26 points while Tobias Harris added 18 and De’Anthony Melton 17.
The Celtics were led by 39 points from Jayson Tatum while Jaylen Brown chipped in with 23 points and Malcolm Brogdon 20.
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With Boston exploiting the absence of Embiid to score freely in the paint, the Celtics jumped out to lead by 12 in the second quarter.
But Harden and Maxey’s scoring ensured that the Sixers remained in touch coming down the stretch with only a handful of points separating the two teams in the closing stages.
A loose pass from Brogdon with 32 seconds left on the clock handed Maxey an easy uncontested layup to put Philadelphia 114-113 up, before Tatum hit back with two free throws to give Boston a slender 115-114 advantage.
But with the clock running down, Harden coolly advanced up the court and took his time before sinking a sublime three-pointer from 25 feet to give Philadelphia a 117-115 lead with just seconds remaining.
Paul Reed then won a foul to put the seal on the victory with two free throws. Game two of the best-of-seven series takes place in Boston on
Speaking after the game, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal roasted the Celtics.
“This is about the lack of focus with Boston,” he said on NBA on TNT
“There’s no way without Joel Embiid, you’re supposed to lose this game ever. Ever, ever, ever, ever.
“They messed around and let James (Harden) keep going. They kept it close.
“What worries me is if you’re a road team and you keep it close anything can happen.
“Hopefully this doesn’t bite them.”
NBA commentator Bill Simmons meanwhile labelled the Celtics effort “pathetic”
“The Celtics deserved to lose,” he tweeted.
“They’ll do the whole “blah blah blah need a better effort” routine but the D was pathetic, the carelessness with the ball against a BAD defensive team all game was inexcusable, and Doc worked Joe Mazz like a speedbag.”
SUNS SUFFER INJURY SETBACK AS JOKIC MAKES MVP STATEMENT
In Tuesday’s other playoff game, Denver’s reigning two-time NBA MVP Jokic finished with 39 points as the Nuggets staged a fourth-quarter rally to eclipse the Phoenix Suns 97-87 and take a 2-0 series lead.
Devin Booker finished with 35 points for Phoenix while Kevin Durant added 24, but the Suns were unable to respond as Denver pulled away to outscore the visitors 27-14 in the fourth quarter.
Jokic’s 39-point haul included 26 after half-time as the Nuggets took control of a low-scoring contest that saw Phoenix lead by eight points in the third quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope delivered a crucial cameo for Denver with a flurry of three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, helping to take the game away from Phoenix as the clock ran down.
A gloomy night for Phoenix was compounded by an injury to veteran Chris Paul, who limped to the locker room near the end of the third quarter after appearing to injure his groin.
“Both teams didn’t shoot well, it was a low-scoring game 87-97, it was a tough, rough game — but we won the game and that’s the most important thing,” Jokic said.
The victory came as Jokic prepares to discover on Tuesday whether he has won the NBA’s regular season MVP award for a third straight year.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Jokic had delivered an MVP-caliber performance to drag Denver over the line.
“Nikola’s an MVP for a reason. He can take over a game. He can beat you in a lot of ways. I love an aggressive Nikola Jokic,” Malone said.
The Denver coach said Jokic however was only focused on ending the Nuggets’ wait for a first NBA Championship.
“I know what motivates Nikola Jokic, myself, and the rest of the guys in that locker room – it’s not the MVP,” Malone said.
“If he wins it, we’ll be celebrating and very happy for him because it’s a huge accomplishment, three years in a row.
“And if he doesn’t win it I’m going to give him a hug because he’s still the MVP in my eyes.” The series now heads back to Arizona for game three on Friday.