James Harden helps 76ers steal Game 1 vs. Celtics

After Tatum hit two free throws with 26 seconds remaining, it was all about Harden. The former NBA MVP got the switch he wanted with Horford on him. Harden proceeded to nail a 26-foot three-point jumper with 8.1 seconds remaining to give the 76ers a two-point lead.

A bad pass from Smart resulted in yet another Celtics turnover with Tatum fouling Paul Reed, who nailed two free throws to give the 76ers the stunning 119-115 road win over Boston inside TD Garden.

The stars certainly came out to play in this one. In addition to Harden’s 45 points, Maxey had 26 of his own. Celtics wings Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 62 points of their own with the latter shooting a stellar 8-of-10 from the field.

But in the end, it was the 76ers who stole the show with Embiid sidelined. It’s a stunning end result given that Doc Rivers’ squad was a mere 13-13 since the start of the 2021-22 season with Embiid sidelined.

We knew that Philadelphia’s margin for error would be small without Embiid on the floor in this one. The team was a near double-digit road underdog against the defending conference champions.

In addition to Harden shooting 17-of-30, De’Anthony Melton went for 17 points. That included 14 in the second quarter to keep this one close. Philadelphia also turned the ball over just six times compared to 16 for the Celtics.

That was the major difference as Boston shot 59% from the field compared to 51% for Philadelphia.

As noted above, it all started with Harden. He has been in this type of atmosphere in the playoffs throughout the veteran’s career. Harden knew what was needed of him. Instead of acting as a distributor, he needed to come up with a big-time scoring effort. That’s exactly what Harden did.

“The guy’s a Hall-of-Famer, and you only hear all of the other stuff about him,” 76ers head coach Rivers said after Game 1. “We wanted the ball in James’ hands.”

Harden’s experience showed as his 76ers teammates were celebrating following the game. He could be seen waiving them to the locker room, telling his teammates that “it’s just one game.”

But what a heck of a performance from Harden for one game, potentially changing the narrative surrounding him and NBA Playoff basketball.

As for the Celtics, this loss hurts. The team shot the ball at a clip we’ve rarely seen in postseason basketball history. It was going up against a team without the likely NBA MVP. And it could not come out on top.