Though Harden couldn’t duplicate the magic from his 45-point Game 1 night, a first-quarter silver lining for the Sixers was the 33-year-old drawing six foul shots in the period. Harden saw a step-back three rattle around the rim and out late in the first quarter. Moving forward, we continue to think it might make sense to give Danuel House Jr. Niang made a nice defensive play taking a charge on Tatum, but he had a scoreless stint. Tucker declined a corner three, drove on Robert Williams III and got blocked, Georges Niang replaced him. Outside of Harden’s nine points, the Sixers received just 11 in the first quarter. Boston began 4 for 13 from the floor, 1 for 7 from long distance. While the Sixers started 3 for 13 from the field and 1 for 13 from three-point range, their defense generally started far stronger than in Game 1’s first quarter. Though head coach Doc Rivers said pregame the Sixers’ preference was to sub Embiid in and out as normal, the six-time All-Star ultimately headed to the bench with 5:09 left in the first quarter. He missed a couple of early jump shots and committed an after-timeout turnover when he looked for Tobias Harris on a duck-in and had the ball slip from his hand. The bottom line is when Embiid’s on the court, the Sixers’ perimeter defense has almost always looked less leaky.Įmbiid’s rust and suboptimal health were much more apparent on offense. Embiid added four more blocks in the first half, including another impressive chase-down on Jayson Tatum and a rejection when Brown tried to dunk over him. He effectively contested one Derrick White attempt inside and picked up a chase-down block in transition against Marcus Smart. While that approach has tended to be effective at keeping Embiid away from the rim, he was still an immediate factor in the paint. Though Embiid did not move as confidently or decisively as usual, it was still clear that his presence upgraded the Sixers’ defense early.īoston opened playing a five-out style, often stationing Al Horford in the corner. Here are observations on the Sixers' Game 2 defeat: Embiid far sharper on defense early Game 3 will be Friday night in Philadelphia. After three games, it's become clear that they're overmatched in the series, and at this point any outcome other than the Sixers advancing would be shocking.įor Embiid, his overtime 3-pointer was the most memorable single shot of his career thus far, and while it might have been his first career game winner, there's a good chance it won't be his last.Kenny Smith on James Harden, Nick Nurse and the future of the Sixers As a team they forced 24 turnovers, but ultimately it wasn't enough. added 24 points despite battling an illness and Precious Achiuwa had 20 off the bench. On the other side, OG Anunoby scored 26 points and grabbed five rebounds for Toronto, Gary Trent Jr. The Sixers have benefitted from a balanced scoring attack all series. Tobias Harris also chipped in with a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds). James Harden and Tyrese Maxey both scored 19 points, and Harden paired his point production with 10 assists. Embiid (33 points, 13 rebounds) led the way for Philadelphia in Game 3, but he also got his fair share of help, as he has all series.
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