Harden finally ushered in the opportunity to prove himself, the Heat at home to meet the 76ers, no Embiid sitting on the inside, the burden of winning the game is all on Harden, before the game, he was questioned by the outside world, but Harden showed a very confident look. In the first quarter of the game, the Heat played an 18-6 start, the 76ers immediately responded to the 11-0 counterattack, the two sides did not open the point difference between you and me, at the end of the quarter, Hiro scored 5 points, the first quarter ended the 76ers trailed by 8 points; in the second quarter, the Heat took advantage of the chase to open the point difference to double digits, Harden stepped forward, led the team to play a 15-4 rebound, the first half of the battle, the 76ers took a 1-point lead. In the third quarter, the Heat strengthened the defense, Adebayo turned the river on the inside, the outside line Hiro's feel was also very hot, the point difference returned to double digits, after three quarters, the Heat attacked the fourth quarter with an 8-point advantage; in the last quarter, Hiro scored 8 points in a row and the 76ers could not organize a sustained and effective counterattack, the game lost suspense 4 minutes in advance, and finally, the Heat won the 76ers by 14 points to usher in the semifinals.
Although only one game was lost, but fans believe that the 76ers are out, on the one hand, Harden did not play a highlight, far from the pre-game commitment, O'Neal publicly criticized Harden, claiming that he did not play aggressive, still shot less than 20 times in the whole game, and now Harden is a bit like Wiggins, since entering the playoffs, his single-game shots have not exceeded 20, just like Wiggins' score has been stable at about 18 points. If Embiid is there, Harden can understand it, but Embiid is not there and needs him to score. Harden shot 5-of-13, including 2-of-7 three-pointers, 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and worse, he had 5 turnovers, the Heat know Harden too well, especially former teammate Tucker, as long as the defensive intensity comes up, Harden is at a loss.
Without Embiid, Rivers gave Jordan Jr. the opportunity to start, but he played 17 minutes and only got 4 points and 2 rebounds, personal plus-minus -22, such a performance wants to be alone in the box is too unrealistic, Reed is full of energy, but he fell into the trouble of fouls, Millsap's age is there, physical fitness and speed can not keep up, three stinkers can not stand up to a Zhuge Liang, this battle, 76ers 10 rebounds less than the Heat is the best embodiment. Therefore, the views of the fans are not exaggerated. Overall, the Heat still won defensively, not only locking harden, but also defending his teammates, according to statistics, Harden 10 passes outside the line, teammates did not hit a single hit, which created the worst shooting rate in 8 years. It is worth mentioning that Embiid made a surprising decision, he will join the French men's basketball team, and Gobert formed a twin tower to represent the French team in the Olympic Games.