PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had one final shot to come away with a win. They had staged a spirited comeback effort, erasing a double-digit deficit, and trailed by one, 89-88, to the Milwaukee Bucks late. So they put the ball in the hands of James Harden.
Harden had 16 points in the fourth quarter and he was spectacular to get the Sixers back in the game, so why not go to the future Hall of Famer?
The Beard went to work and he drove toward the basket before taking an off-balance shot. It ultimately fell short and the Sixers dropped to 0-2 with a 90-88 loss to the Bucks.
“It wasn’t a great look,” Harden said. “It was a good look. It could’ve been better. I could’ve took my time a little bit more. I think I had a little bit more time to where I could’ve made a second move and got a better shot, but I’ll take it.”
Coach Doc Rivers was going with Harden no matter what. Milwaukee threw Grayson Allen on him before he ran into Jrue Holiday, and he took the tough shot.
“I thought two things, we got Tyrese on the slip out off of that,” said Rivers. “I haven’t seen it, I think he may have been open. I think James got bumped by Allen. Not at the basket. I thought the bump came before the drive which they call every time. They didn’t call that, and, honestly, I was blocked out. I haven’t seen the shot. I think James would take that shot and would be fine with it, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
The Sixers take on the San Antonio Spurs in their next chance to get in the win column in the 2022-23 season.
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