Harden’s 23 Points Propel 76ers to Game 1 Victory Over Nets

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James Harden is feeling more comfortable playing in Philadelphia this season compared to last season. He knows his purpose alongside Joel Embiid, he’s in good physical shape, and his signature step-back shots from beyond the three-point line are back on track. His coach remarked that “He’s confident in how we play now,” compared to last year when he was wondering if he was doing the right things. Harden had all of the correct moves against the Nets.

Harden scored 23 points and made 7 three-pointers while Embiid got 26 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat Brooklyn Nets 121 to 101 in the first game of their playoffs series. Tobias Harris added 21 more points and the Sixers broke a record by shooting 21 three-pointers in this match. They are doing their best to bring home their first NBA championship since 1983 and reach past the second round for the first time after 2001.

The Philadelphia 76ers, a top-seeded team, will host their next game on Monday. Nets’ Bridges scored 30 points to make sure they were in the game in the first half. However, Brooklyn’s team without its star players was no match for Sixers’ Embiid, Harden and their experienced team that are expected to go far into the playoffs. At home, there were a lot of excited fans watching this game resulting in Sixers having an advantage as they totally dominated down the stretch. Even though Embiid did not perform at his best level, Philly still managed to win.

Embiid made 7 out of 15 shots, plus all 11 free throw attempts, but he was having a hard time against double teams that followed him all over the court. Also, while dunking, Embiid got hit in his face so he fell down to the ground hoping it would make the other team get a flagrant foul. When Royce O’Neale grabbed his arm tightly and they got into an argument, Embiid got angry.

The performance of Embiid didn’t satisfy Jacque Vaughn, the Nets coach.

Vaughn said hopefully, they’ll be giving three seconds to the really tall guy on their next game. But there’s no need to worry for the Sixers because Harden, who was the best passer in the league this year, scored with his step back 3-point shots. Even though he admitted he couldn’t make a layup, he laughed and said it’s no problem because he feels strong and powerful.

In the first half, James Harden wasn’t doing very well near the basket and made only 1 out of 8 shots. But he managed to make 5 out of 7 shots on 3-pointers, which helped keep the lead at double digits. Joel Embiid, the NBA scoring champion, couldn’t take control as much as usual, and only took seven shots in the first half. He complimented James saying that he “looked great from 3.”

During the Game 1, the Sixers had some help from their backups De’Anthony Melton, Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang who all shot 3-pointers. This helped them stay in control of the game. Bridges also made sure that they didn’t get completely destroyed.

Bridges went to high school near Philadelphia in Malvern, Pennsylvania. He then played for the Villanova Wildcats for three years. Bridges helped the team win two national titles–there are banners at the Wells Fargo Center that showed it. After this success, he was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with their No. 10 pick in the 2018 draft.

On draft night, when Mikal Bridges was celebrating becoming an NBA star, he got traded to Phoenix for Zhaire Smith. Unfortunately for the Philadelphia 76ers where his mum worked at the time, Zhaire only played 13 NBA games and now Mikal is hugely successful. If only we could see him in the lineup!

In the first half of the game, Bridges made 16 shots out of 10 and scored 23 points. Even though he tried his best, it wasn’t quite enough to win against their opponents, who had Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and more on their team.

Bridges said he would rather miss shots but still win!

The Nets took 70 shots in comparison to 89 shots from the 76ers, but unfortunately lost 21-3 when going for second chances opportunities.

The 76ers started off the game with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni ringing the bell. The team’s backup Center, Paul Reed, scored 11 points during the playoffs, which is more than the previous high of 18 points that had happened twice before.

In a family affair, Brooklyn’s Seth Curry played against his father-in-law Doc Rivers! Even though he scored 10 points overall, his dad-in law said it felt very awkward to be coaching against him now since he used to work with him last year on the 76ers.

This morning I was talking to my daughter and she seemed like she was mad. I didn’t really understand why but it made me laugh.