The Heat beat the 76ers 119-103 at home today, bringing the series to 2-0.
In today's game, the Heat bench scored a total of 52 points, while the 76ers' bench players combined scored just 19 points. It is worth mentioning that Oladipo alone scored 19 points, and the best sixth man Giro also scored 18 points.
Harden still didn't perform well today, playing 41 minutes, shooting 6-of-15 from the field, 1-of-5 from three-point range, 7-of-7 from the free throw line, 20 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, and failed to play as he should.
In the first half, Harden did well, scoring 16 points, the first time he scored at least 15 points in the playoffs this season. But in the second half, Harden lost again, scoring just four points on 1-of-5. In the last game, Harden scored just four points on 1-of-4 shooting in the second half. Harden scored only four points in the second half in two consecutive games, and it's no surprise that the 76ers lost, and fans jokingly called Harden a quarterback.
In the playoffs this season, Harden's performance in the second half did vary greatly, averaging 11.6 points and 5.0 assists per game in the first half, shooting 42% and 37% from three-point range, while averaging only 7.1 points and 4.4 assists in the second half, shooting and shooting 37% and 32% from three-point range.
In Embiid's absence, Harden's offensive power on the offensive end was significantly insufficient, and there was no significant improvement in shots, with neither game exceeding 15. Since joining the 76ers, Harden has played in 29 games, but the number of shots has never reached 20. So far in the playoffs this season, Ha has only made 13.4 shots on the field, which is obviously not enough.
In contrast, It was Maxi who did even better, shooting 12-of-22 from the field today, 1-of-4 from three-point range, 9-of-11 from the free throw line, and cut 34 points, three rebounds and two steals. This is the second time That Maxie has slashed a 30+ in a single game in the playoffs, and in playoff history, only 5 players have scored more 30+ than Maxie before the age of 22. Maxi is also the only player in 76ers history to have playoff 30+ in a single game before the age of 22.
Judging from today's performance, Maxi is more like the second boss of the team, and Harden is not at all like the second boss, failing to carry the 76ers forward in Embiid's absence. If Embiid can't come back in time, the 76ers may be like this this season, Harden came from the Nets to the 76ers, and finally did not have a fate with the championship.