Harden the Great became a green leaf
The Philadelphia 76ers came to the playoff stage, this time embiid's helper became James Harden, the team occupies the fourth place in the East, but there are still people who are not optimistic about this team, for the simple reason that they have to face the Toronto Raptors. This season's Raptors can be called the nemesis of the strong team, coupled with Toronto's epidemic prevention requirements, Sebel can not play on the road, so people are so worried about the Philadelphia 76ers, worried that they can not cross the first round of the playoffs.
But in the first game of the series, the 76ers made all fans all worry, not because of Harden, not because of Embiid, but because of the 21-year-old Maxi. Although people have seen Maxie's progress in the regular season, it is still not expected that he can dominate a game on the playoff stage and make Harden the Great a supporting role.
Maxi shines
At the beginning of the first quarter, Maxi showed excellent shooting feel, 4 of 6 shots, 3 of 3 three-pointers, 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in a single quarter, becoming the team's leading scorer, Embiid made 4 fouls in a single quarter, got 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and the physical talent was there. With only 3 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists on 1 of 4 shooting, the 76ers still scored 35 points in a single quarter and successfully took an 8-point lead. After returning from the second quarter, Maxi shot 2-of-4 and had just five points, one rebound and one assist.
However, Harden had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, Embiid 8 points and 2 rebounds, Harris had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, and the 76ers scored 34 points in a single quarter, leading the Raptors by 18 points at 69-51 at the end of the half. In the second half, the Raptors continued to chase, and the single quarter blasted 38 points, but the 76ers withstood the pressure and scored 39 points in the single quarter. Maxie broke out again, 7 of 8, 2 of 2 three-pointers, 21 points and 1 rebound in a single quarter, simply unstoppable, Harden also had 9 points and 6 assists, it can be said that Maxie did not live up to Harden's every pass.
By the end of the third quarter, Maxi had scored a career-high 36 points. Barnes suffered a weak foot in the last quarter, and then was helped out of the field by his teammates, which is undoubtedly a fatal blow for the Raptors. In this situation, the 76ers always maintained a lead of about 20 points, but Rivers wanted Maxi to get 40 points, so he let him stay on the court. Unfortunately, Maxi scored only 2 points on 1-of-3 shooting. However, in the end, the Philadelphia 76ers still beat the Toronto Raptors 131-111, leading 1-0 in the series.
Rivers praised Harden
When your team has superstars like Harden and Embiid, everyone will willingly become supporting roles, but the 21-year-old Maxi made Harden and Embiid green leaves, shooting 14 of 21 from the field, 5 of 8 from three-point range, and 38 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. This allowed Maxi to overtake Barkley as the youngest Mr. 35+ in the history of the 76ers, with 21 points in a single quarter, and the second highest score in the 76ers' history in nearly 25 years. Even Parkinson couldn't help but praise that the 76ers now have a big three, and Maxi's performance is elite.
Head coach Rivers also said after the game that Maxi played this game very easily and his speed was our advantage. It is worth mentioning that the person who Rivers praised the most after the game was not Maxie, but James Harden. In this game, Harden played 40 minutes, the most in the team, with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 14 assists, only 1 turnover. Rivers said: "When Harden came out, we showed better continuity than before, and we continued to play good rounds, which is commendable.
It is true that the Raptors' second and third quarter starts were pressed by Harden. If it weren't for Harden, the 76ers would probably have been reversed, and under Harden's leadership, the 76ers delivered 29 assists and only 3 turnovers.