Sixers’ James Harden turns back clock to dominate Celtics in Game 1

BOSTON — With the Sixers trailing the Celtics by a point with 15 seconds left, James Harden dribbled between the logo and the 3-point line.

Doc Rivers intentionally hadn’t called a time-out to prevent the Celtics setting up a double-team on Harden, so Al Horford was the only player guarding him. When the clock hit 10 seconds, Harden pulled up and made the long 3-pointer over Horford’s outstretched hand to put the Sixers ahead for good.

It was the seventh 3-pointer and 45th point, for Harden, who was once one of the NBA’s premier scorers. But the Sixers’ offense runs through center Joel Embiid, so Harden averaged just 21.0 points in 2022-23. But with the MVP-candidate big man out with injury, Harden, who had just 69 total points in Philly’s sweep of Brooklyn, turned back the clock.

“I haven’t felt one of those zones in a minute. It felt really good,” Harden said. “Just to be aggressive and shoot the basketball and do what I want. I’m capable of doing it. It felt good to make shots to give ourselves a chance to be on the road and win Game 1.”

With Embiid and his 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds missing, Rivers said he asked more of his 33-year-old former All-Star.

“He was awesome. He kept his cool. He knew when to attack when to give it up. He had great patience overall,” he said. “He had the perfect mindset tonight. I’m just so happy for him. It tells you what he can do on a given night. The guy is a Hall of Famer. All you hear is the other stuff about him. He was fantastic.”

Harden said the talent that made him a 30+ points per game scorer three times in Houston is still there. He’s just not asked to be that guy on this team.

“It’s not that I’m not capable of doing it. This is my role for this team,” he said. “If you want me to do this tonight, I can do that as well. I don’t think a lot of players can do that.”

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