James Harden made a corner 3-pointer on a pass from Joel Embiid with 19 seconds left in overtime, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 116-115 in overtime to even the Eastern Conference semifinals 2-2.
James Harden made a 12-foot floater with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie it at 107, and the 76ers outscored the Celtics 9-8 in overtime.
During clutch time, the 76ers outscored the Celtics 20-19. Harden scored 11 of the 76ers’ 20 on 4 for 6 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Harden had 3 of his 4 steals, and the 76ers scored 2 points off them. With 3:50 left in overtime, Al Horford stole the ball from Harden, and Marcus Smart’s driving layup off it put the Celtics ahead 111-109.
Harden had 42 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals on 16 for 23 shooting, and Embiid added 34 points and 13 rebounds. The 76ers had 2 30-point scorers. Harden assisted on 6 of Embiid’s 11 baskets.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had 24 points (14 in the paint), 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks, and Jaylen Brown added 23 points (12 in the first quarter) on 10 for 16 shooting. Smart had 21 points and 7 assists. The Celtics had 3 20-point scorers.
The Celtics outscored the 76ers 22-9 on the fast break. The 76ers were outscored 16-6 in 5 minutes with Harden, Embiid, Niang, Melton and Maxey on the floor together.