Retrace the rocket path
James Harden's years in the Houston Rockets can be said to be very memorable, from MVP to scoring king to assist king, almost all of the personal honors, Harden has won the hand, but the team's farthest go, but the Western Conference Finals. You could argue that the Golden State Warriors were too talented at the time, but the winner was the king and the loser was the loser, and no one cared about that. In the end, James Harden parted ways with the Rockets, went to the Brooklyn Nets, and now remains with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In this game, James Harden has to face another team that retraces the rocket road of that year, that is, the Dallas Lone Ranger. Luka Doncic's unparalleled personal abilities allowed the Lone Rangers to build a team similar to the Houston Rockets in those days with him as the sole core. In this game, Harden and Doncic meet, who can be better?
Harden's last quarter erupted
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Lone Ranger was the main guest, Doncic had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Brunson also had 7 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, the team scored 28 points in a single quarter, while the 76ers only scored 27 points, of which Embiid had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal, harden only 2 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists on 0-of-3 shooting. After returning from the second quarter, Harden gradually regained his touch, scoring 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 3-of-3 shooting, embiid was even more unstoppable, scoring 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals on 5-of-6 shooting, and the 76ers blasted 32 points in a single quarter.
The Lone Ranger appeared to be a bit overwhelmed, With Doncic not scoring a goal on 0-of-4 shooting, and Brunson and Powell each scoring eight points to barely hold up the team's offense. At the end of the half, the 76ers led the Lone Rangers by five points at 58-53. In the second half, Doncic shot 0 of 3, but grabbed 4 rebounds to send 6 assists, even so, the Lone Ranger only scored 23 points in this quarter, the 76ers did not seize the opportunity, Harden shot 0 of 5, Maxi shot 0 of 3, the team just extended the lead to 8 points.
In the final quarter of the game, James Harden began to take over the game, 2 three-pointers, 1 mid-range shot, plus free throws, 11 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists in the single quarter, helping the 76ers quickly take a double-digit lead. The Lone Ranger did not give up, but Doncic's outside feel was still bad, and when there were more than two minutes left in the game, the Lone Ranger went up and down five times and announced that he had conceded defeat. In the end, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 111-101, successfully ending their opponent's three-game winning streak.
Donchich Tela crotch
Retaking the Path of the Houston Rockets means that the Lone Ranger puts all his eggs in one basket, and once Doncic doesn't play well, then the loss is justified. For example, in this game, Doncic shot 5 of 20, only 17 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists and 6 turnovers, the Lone Ranger also lost the game without suspense. In fact, the Lone Rangers' role players played very well, With Brunson having 24 points, three rebounds and four assists on 10-of-14 shooting, Powell also having 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Dinwiddie 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, and Smith having 11 points and 7 rebounds.
James Harden played another 42 minutes and finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists on 6-of-14 shooting, while Embiid continued to dominate both ends of the offensive and defensive ends with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. When Harden and Embiid play like this, the 76ers are really hard to lose. Harris had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 6-of-9 shooting, Sable had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and Niang on the bench hit four three-pointers and also had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. In this game, the Philadelphia 76ers hit 16 three-pointers, which was the key to their victory.