On April 21, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. In today's East Focus game, the 76ers took on the Raptors on the road. In the first two legs of the two teams, the 76ers saved their home court to take a 2-0 lead over the Raptors!
As soon as the game began, Harden hit his first three-pointer of the day from 45 degrees on the right. However, he didn't shoot much in the first quarter, and he failed to effectively connect his teammates, scoring 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 1-of-3 shooting. After moving into the second quarter, Harden stepped up his personal offense, single-handedly playing VanVleet to 2+1, and then back-to-back crotch dribbling and retreating to hit a three-point shot. He then assisted Embiid and broke through the basket. In this quarter, Harden had eight points and four assists on 3-of-5 shooting, but the 76ers trailed by 10 points at the end of the first half.
In the third quarter, Harden scored two baskets, 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the single quarter, and he connected embiid several times, who scored 18 points in a single quarter to help the team narrow the point gap. In the final quarter, the two sides were in a fierce battle, and Harden won a basket a minute before the final game to help the team shrink to only 1 point. Harden then fouled and used free throws to wipe out the point difference. However, then Harden was whistled for fouling, the 76ers challenge failed, Harden had no choice but to eat his 6th foul and could only leave!
In the final minutes of overtime, Embiid staged a three-point shootout as the 76ers beat the Raptors 104-101 to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Harden played 38 minutes today, shooting 7-of-13, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 3-of-5 from the free throw line, for a combined 19 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Although he did not play in overtime, the 76ers still won.
According to the schedule, the 76ers will continue to play the Raptors on the road on April 24, which will be the fourth leg of the two sides.