After Embiid's timely comeback, the 76ers' inner strength has increased greatly, and the offense has become smooth, but the G4 Butler explosion has 40 points, and the 76ers' response is Harden's explosion, with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, and 31 points is also Harden's highest score since the playoffs this season, which was only 22 points before. In the past, Harden took 30+ is really very simple, but now taking it once is as rare as eating dumplings for the New Year. I hope that through such a game, Harden's feel and confidence can be restored.
Next, the 76ers and the Heat will face off against Tennozan, with the game played at the Heat's home stadium. So how has Harden performed in the battle of King Mountain in the past 5 years? 3 wins, 2 losses, 30+ games, only 5 points last year
In the 2017 Western Conference semifinals, Harden single-core led the team, this season Paul has not come, Howard has not renewed, the Rockets' other main scoring points are Gordon and Anderson, the opponent is the Spurs with 61 wins in the regular season, and the double giant team with Leonard and Aldridge. The two sides scored into The King's Hill, Harden tried his best to get 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but also sent out 9 turnovers, the Rockets lost to the Spurs by 3 points, and then went out 4-2.
In the 2018 Western Conference Finals, the opponent was the Warriors, who had the Big 4, but the Rockets had home field advantage, and Tianwangshan played at their own home. It was a high-intensity defensive battle, Paul got a comprehensive statistic of 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, but was injured in the fourth quarter of the game, Harden did not perform well in the last quarter of 6 of 1, but the Rockets still Won the game with Gordon's 10 points in the final quarter. It's just that Paul didn't play in the back 2 games after injuring his hamstring, and the Rockets lost a great situation.
In the 2019 Western Conference semifinals, the opponent was still the Warriors, and this game was accidentally injured by Durant in Tianwangshan, but the Rockets did not seize the opportunity, allowing the Warriors to play a smooth offense. Harden performed well with 31 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, but the Warriors' sudden changes made it difficult for the Rockets to adapt, and the defensive end was suddenly overwhelmed, which missed the best opportunity to defeat the Warriors.
In the first round of the 2020 playoffs, facing the Thunder, Paul and Wei Shao exchanged teams in the previous year's offseason, and did not expect the two teams to meet in the first round. The Rockets, which have two superstars, did not take much advantage, because the Thunder played a stronger whole, so they also fought to The King Mountain. Harden played 28 minutes, easily got 31 points to lead the team to a big victory, but the Thunder then returned home to win the G6, and the two games were won until the Seven Rockets advanced to a thrilling promotion.
The most recent was the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Nets against the Bucks, Harden did not play in the first four games due to injury, but Irving suddenly injured in G4, the Bucks took the opportunity to tie the score. Harden chose to return with injury in G5. Affected by the injury, Harden's state is not good, only 5 points in 10 of the game, but Harden's role is very obvious, at least to ensure that Durant is not caught, he sent 8 assists to help the team win the King Mountain. But unfortunately, Harden's 3 games were not in good shape, and the Nets were eventually reversed by the Bucks.
Today is another important game like Tenno Mountain, but now Harden has MVP-level teammates like Embiid, the team's health is also very good, Harden does not feel good, but he is basically not injured. As long as Harden can continue to play the average level of previous Kings Mountain games, the probability of the 76ers winning is very high.