TINIYAK ni James Har-den na aabante ang Philadelphia 76ers sa second round, kabaligtaran ng sinasabi ng mga league analyst na aabot sa Game 7 ang serye kontra Toronto Raptors.
Bagama’t nanguna si Joel Embiid sa Sixers sa kanyang 33 points at 10 rebounds, si Harden ang naging susi sa panalo ng team nang magtala ng 22 points at 15 assists para tapusin ang Raptors, 132-97, sa Game 6 ng first-round series sa Toronto.
“We weren’t going back to Philly for a Game 7,” giit ni Harden.
Makakatapat ng Philadelphia ang Miami sa second round, at magsisimula ang kanilang Game 1 sa South Florida (Martes sa Manila).
Tinalo ng top-seeded Heat ang Atlanta sa limang laro sa first round.
“They’re good, they’re deep, they’re veterans,” pahayag ni 76ers coach Doc Rivers tungkol sa Heat. “We’ve got to go play grown men, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Nag-ambag si Tyrese Maxey ng 25 points at si Tobias Harris ay may 19 points at 11 rebounds para tulungan ang 76ers na tapusin ang Raptors, na kahit kulang sa players ay nagawang talunin sila sa Game 4 at 5.
“We knew what was at stake for us,” sabi naman ni Harris. “No disrespect to our fans, but we did not want to come back to Wells Fargo for a Game 7. We wanted to end it tonight out here.”
Nag-struggle mula sa 3-point range (7 for 35) ang Raptors, pinangunahan ni Chris Boucher na may 25 points at 10 rebounds, 24 points mula sa nag-foul out na si Pascal Siakam, habang si Gary Trent Jr. ay may 19 at 18 si Scottie Barnes.
“We fought hard but we didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” ani Siakam. “We just have to go back and learn from it.”
Unang beses na ang Toronto ay natalo sa first round simula nang mawalis ng Washington noong 2015.
“I thought we went through a tremendous amount this year,” sabi ni Raptors coach Nick Nurse. “They just kept fighting, kept playing, kept getting better and kept figuring it out.”
Pinuri naman ni Harden ang Raptors na napahaba ang serye sa kabila ng 3-0 start nila.
“That was one of the toughest series I’ve played in just because of their switching and their athleticism, their length,” pag-amin ni Harden. “They throw different defenses at you, box and ones and zones. They just mess up the game.”
Lumaban ang Raptors kahit wala ang kanilang all-star guard na si Fred VanVleet na may strained left hip flexor.
Dikit ang iskor, 70-67 pabor sa Sixers nang mag-17-0 run ito at tuluyang iniwanan ang Raptors.
“At halftime I looked and we had great shots, and we were going to keep getting those,” wika ni Rivers. “I told them ‘If we can rebound the ball, we can stretch this lead quickly.’ That was quicker than I thought, obviously. We made every shot.”
294
