James Harden's Stats vs. Boston Celtics

How did James Harden perform vs. Celtics.

With the preseason in the rearview, the Philadelphia 76ers had an opportunity to finally play a game that’s worth something. Going into the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season, James Harden and the Sixers knew that their first couple of matchups would be difficult.

On Tuesday night, the Sixers were set to begin their 2022-2023 campaign against the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Boston Celtics. Despite all of the distractions and noise surrounding the Celtics this offseason, nobody in Philadelphia believed the Celtics would be an easy defeat for Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

As it turned out, that was definitely the case. Through the first half of action, the Sixers got off to a slow start but managed to outscore the Celtics through the first quarter. Boston hit them back in the second quarter and tied the game up before going into halftime.

Coming out for the second half, the Sixers and the Celtics were getting chippy and physical, but only one team maintained the high energy for the remainder of the game. 

The Sixers lost steam in the second half, and the Celtics took advantage. With a dominant second-half showing from their pair of stars, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics outscored the Sixers 63-54 in the final two quarters.

Boston secured a convincing 126-117 victory over the Sixers to begin the NBA season. Although the 76ers looked rough overall, they received a positive performance from the ten-time All-Star, James Harden.

How Did James Harden Perform?

A lot was made about Harden’s play with the 76ers last season. After getting traded from the Brooklyn Nets midway through the year, Harden appeared in just 21 regular season games with the Sixers and 12 postseason matchups.

During the regular season, Harden averaged 21 points, continuing a regression from his Houston days. In the playoffs, he put up just 18 points per game, marking the first time he averaged fewer than 20 points in the postseason since 2012. 

One performance in the regular season won’t determine who Harden will be for the 2022-2023 season, but his opening night play is definitely a promising sight for the Sixers.

Harden checked in for the entire first quarter on Tuesday. By going 3-4 from the field and hitting on all eight of his free throws, Harden finished the first 12 minutes of action with 16 points. 

When he came back out onto the court after getting five minutes of rest, Harden collected another six points off five shots from the field. 

Harden’s scoring didn’t slow down in the second half. As the star guard checked in for another 11 minutes to begin the second half, Harden was sharp from the field once again and drained three of his four shots, along with three free throws, to add nine more points.

Then in the fourth quarter, which eventually became garbage time, Harden put up just one shot and one free throw, tacking on four more points in six minutes.

Overall, Harden finished the night by scoring a team-high of 35 points in 37 minutes. He was highly efficient from the field by knocking down 64 percent of his shots and hitting on 55 percent of his threes. From the charity stripe, Harden was a perfect 12-12.

“The Beard” also collected eight rebounds, and seven assists, while turning the ball over three times. There is still a lot of season left to be played, but Harden’s first attempt at getting back to his better self is surely encouraging. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.