James Harden found his form last night to score 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4, with 6-of-10 from 3, and got to the free throw line 10 times as Philadelphia 76ers defeated Miami Heat 116-108 in their Eastern Conference Semi-finals to level the series 2-2.
For Harden, it was more than simply knocking down a few shots. He has played much better since the return of Joel Embiid, and last night he added 24 points and 11 rebounds. The Philadelphia 76ers were focused early on getting the ball deep to Embiid trying to take advantage of switches, which later opened up other parts of the offense.
Philadelphia 76ers pulled away late and got the 116-108 win, tying the series up at 2-2. Game 5 is tomorrow night in Miami.
Jimmy Butler scored 40 points for Miami Heat, on 13-of-20 shooting. He and Bam Adebayo, who had 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, carried the offense.
Outside of Butler and Adebayo, Miami Heat struggled to make a shot. They were 7-of-35 or 20% from beyond the arc, with Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo each shooting 1-of-5.
Of bigger concern for Miami Heat going home to Miami is Kyle Lowry‘s status and hamstring. He limped off the court last night and went to the locker room, and while he came back and played more, he was clearly slowed by it. It is unsure if Lowry would be able to play in Game 5.
In Dallas, Luka Doncic tumbled toward the baseline after getting bumped by Chris Paul just before the halftime buzzer, showing that he had watched one of the masters at drawing fouls.
The trick spurred a critical fourth foul on Paul, setting up the Dallas Mavericks to get even with a 111-101 win over Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul ended up being out of Game 4 early in the fourth quarter last night, the period when he had often dominated Dallas Mavericks during an 11-game winning streak that ended with consecutive home victories for Dallas.
Doncic scored 26 points while helping Dallas Mavericks take advantage of foul trouble for Paul to draw level 2-2 in their series.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored a playoff career-high 24 points on the most 3-pointers he’s had, regular season or playoffs. He was 8 of 12 from deep, including consecutive 3s for a 14-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Game 5 between Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns tomorrow night in Phoenix.
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