James Harden discusses his struggles as Sixers fall to Celtics in Game 3

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PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers had a big opportunity to take control of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics on Friday, but they weren’t able to take advantage in a 114-102 Game 3 loss at home. Boston now leads the series 2-1 and the Sixers have to win Game 4 to avoid a 3-1 hole.

It was another struggle for James Harden in this series as he shot just 3-for-14 while scoring 16 points. This comes after he shot just 2-for-14 in the Game 2 loss. Two very tough games following a 45-point masterpiece in the Game 1 win raise many questions.

“We didn’t score the basketball,” Harden said afterward. “We didn’t play well offensively. Simple.”

The Celtics are a very tough defensive team led by Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and others out on the perimeter. Maybe they bothered Harden enough to throw him out of wack.

“Nope,” he said bluntly.

There was also a stretch where Harden was passing up open looks. One just doesn’t see that from a guy known as a ruthless scorer during his heyday with the Houston Rockets.

“I don’t know,” he stated. “I gotta watch the game, but I’m pretty good on basketball instincts. I know when to score. I know when to pass so I’m pretty sure a lot of it was the right play.”

The Sixers need Harden to be better. Plain and simple. He did have 10 assists and six rebounds in this one which obviously helps, but Philadelphia needs him to be the player he was in Game 1 for them to have a chance in this series.

“I’m gonna go watch it,” coach Doc Rivers said when asked of Harden’s struggles. “I just didn’t think we had any pace. We had stretches in the game where I thought we went downhill with speed and force, we made plays, and then we had stretches were we just didn’t. I’d rather watch the game first and then answer that question.”

Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in South Philadelphia.

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