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Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden turned back the clock in Game 1 of the Sixers’ Eastern Conference semi-finals matchup against the Boston Celtics. This came as Harden finished with a playoff career-high 45 points to go along with six assists, two steals and seven three-pointers on 56.7% shooting.
Harden also capped off his big night with a signature step-back three-pointer to put the Sixers up 117-115 with 8.4 seconds remaining. The shot would prove to be the game-deciding basket as the Celtics didn’t score again, falling 119-115 on the night.
Watch Harden’s clutch step-back jumper below:
James Harden spoke on clutch his step-back three-pointer in Game 1 vs Boston
Following the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 1 win over Boston, James Harden spoke about his clutch step-back three-pointer. Harden said that he had the confidence to take the shot as he practices those types of shots regularly:
“I work on that shot every day,” Harden said.
“Whether it goes in or it doesn’t, I got the confidence to shoot it. So just stay with my shot, follow through and it went in.”
Harden added that the Sixers are a resilient team. This comes as they secured the victory without superstar center Joel Embiid, who missed the game due to a knee injury.
“We’re just a resilient team,” Harden said.
“Even without Joel, we got the confidence to come here and win games. And we’ve been doing it all year long. So it’s a good win for us.”
Harden was then asked how it felt to be able to play like he did back in his prime Houston Rockets days. Harden said it was necessary to do so since the Sixers were lacking Embiid’s scoring prowess:
“We're missing 30-something points a game, so it had to be collectively,” Harden said.
“But for me, I just wanted to get off to a good start. I was going to live with the results. I was going to take those shots though. Same thing for Game 2.”
The Sixers are now leading their second-round playoff series against the Celtics 1-0.
Game 2 will take place on Wednesday in Boston.
