James Harden wins Game 4 with clutch game-winner
James Harden earned the name “Big Game James,” last night. While it wasn’t Worthy out there, Harden came up big for the Philadelphia 76ers. This followed years of Harden being accused of not coming through in the clutch. Eventually, James Harden left the Houston Rockets, due to those accusations. A pit stop in Brooklyn came before joining the Sixers. It hasn’t been perfect, but last night it was working. They fought back to win Game 4, as Harden forced overtime, and then won the game.
James Harden has unquestionably been one of the NBA’s best players for over a decade. However, with the Philadelphia 76ers trading for Harden, they were conceding it’s Joel Embiid’s team. Initially, Embiid was viewed as more of a second option to Ben Simmons. With Simmons’ inconsistency, which was followed by his refusal to play, Embiid stepped up. Ultimately, Simmons was traded for Harden. In 2022, this led to Philly losing to the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the second round.
James Harden faced pressure all season long to step up. Last night, he did so in a big way. In Game 1 of this series, against the Boston Celtics, Harden scored 45 points in the win. After that, the Celtics won the next two games, going up 2-1 in the series. Facing going down 3-1 at home, the Sixers had to do something. While Joel Embiid is the current MVP, Harden had to relive his MVP days. In the end, he came through with the clutch shot. On the other end, Marcus Smart made the game-winner, but his shot came after the final buzzer.
James Harden wins Game 4 with clutch game-winner
