"Robert Williams is pretty good defensively, blocking shots, and so you can be reckless driving into him. "You've just got to obviously be aggressive and still pick his spots," Embiid said about Maxey. The Celtics had seven blocked shots - including three by Robert Williams III- and Embiid said what appeared obvious to the naked eye during the game: That challenging the length of the Celtics repeatedly at the rim wasn't necessarily the best way to approach the game. Remove Embiid's shots from that number and it drops to a dismal 7-for-24 (29.2%). As a team, the 76ers shot just 15-for-41 (36.6%) on 2-point shots on the night. Harden's second consecutive rough night overshadowed a similar clunker from fellow guard Tyrese Maxey, who finished the game on 4-for-16 shooting, and the two of them combined to go 2-for-14 on 2-point shots. "So I'm pretty sure a lot of them was the right play." I know when to score and I know when to pass. "I got to watch the game," Harden said, when asked about those drives inside, "but I'm pretty good on basketball instincts. That was especially true in the first half, when Harden committed five of Philadelphia's 11 turnovers that led to a 57-50 Celtics halftime lead they would never relinquish. "That's something we talked about, getting into the paint with force, with pace and if they come, let's make plays. "I thought there was a couple times we came out of a time out and thought we had the lane," Rivers said. On several occasions, Harden made forays into the paint, but looked indecisive and passed - often leading to turnovers. He believed the team had driving lanes to attack but failed to take advantage of them. Sixers coach Doc Rivers repeatedly said Philadelphia needs to play with more force. Force him into tough shots, make him uncomfortable and really learn to compete." We don't want him to play like that anymore, so we got to be as physical as we can with him. "He came out in Game 1 and won them that game and played terrific. "We're purposefully making it hard on him," Brogdon said. When asked after the game if Boston had done anything to slow him after his Game 1 performance, Harden simply said, "Nope."Ĭeltics guard Malcolm Brogdon disagreed, saying the Celtics had made an effort to slow Harden, with Jaylen Brown being particularly effective in guarding him. The combined 5-for-28 shooting in those two games is Harden's worst output in that span in his career, per ESPN Stats & Information. After putting together the single-best playoff game of his career by tying his career high with 45 points in Philadelphia's Game 1 victory, he followed that performance with a 2-for-14 showing in Game 2 on Wednesday night and a 3-for-14 exhibition in Friday night's loss at Wells Fargo Center. Unfortunately, most of Harden's impact on Game 3 was negative for the 76ers. So it's about finding other ways to impact the game." Some nights you're going to make lots of other shots, a lot of tough ones, and some nights you're not going to make them. "I mean, you just talk to him and you keep telling him to keep shooting," Embiid said after Boston's 114-102 Game 3 victory. PHILADELPHIA - After James Harden had a second straight dreadful shooting night - and the Philadelphia 76ers lost a second consecutive game to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals - Joel Embiidhad a message for his point guard heading into Game 4.
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