The 76ers pushed back Mikal Bridges and the Nets in a Game 1 victory on Saturday.
— James Harden feels more at home in Philly this postseason go-around than he did a year when he was still finding his footing after a trade. It helps that The Beard knows his role alongside Joel Embiid, has his health — and his signature step-back is back on point from beyond the arc.
But Brooklyn's starless roster was no match for Embiid, Harden and a playoff-tested roster expected to make a deep run in the postseason. The Sixers had a sellout crowd of 20,913 in a frenzy from the opening tip, then blew the game open in the fourth.Embiid made only 7 of 15 shots and was flustered at times against double-teams that followed him all over the court. Embiid was smacked in the face on a missed dunk that sent him crashing to the court in an attempt to draw a flagrant foul.
"I couldn't make a layup," the 33-year-old Harden said with a laugh."But that's the least of my worries. My legs, my body feels just powerful, feels strong." Unlike the regular season, when the Sixers were crushed by the non-Embiid minutes, the reserves came through. De'Anthony Melton, Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang all hit 3s -- the 76ers made 13 of 21 in the half -- to keep them in control of Game 1.Bridges attended Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, then played three seasons at Villanova.
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