2023年5月7日,

byDAN GELSTON美联社体育作家|今天23点。丹佛掘金队小前锋迈克尔·波特(1)驱动器之间菲尼克斯太阳队中锋运动员Landale,左,和凯文杜兰特,对的,下半年NBA篮球西部半决赛第三场的比赛,周五,2023年5月5日在凤凰城。(美联社照片/马特纽约)费城——詹姆斯涨停显示在第一场比赛,他仍然可以和他一样伟大的一次在他的总理。胡子总这些天不是一样伟大的他曾经在他与休斯顿的太平盛世。变硬的偶尔大76人队的季后赛比赛——就像45分他在第一场比赛的胜利对波士顿——现在有直接的影响。像第二场比赛,哈登14投2中损失。或者第三场比赛,当硬3-for-14射杀了16分,是的,另一个损失。对于那些在家计分,硬化5-for-28拍摄的最后两场比赛对他来说是最差的在任何两跨在他的职业生涯中——包括常规赛和季后赛中他试图至少20次。难怪凯尔特人举行2 - 1的领先优势在东部半决赛之前,今天的第四场比赛在费城。也难怪为什么低语变得响亮,硬想在火箭结束自己的职业生涯。 Lose Game 4, and it could be the last one in Philly for Harden -- and with more games like the last two, would the Sixers really be that crushed to see him go? Harden brushed off concerns about his play, especially his odd Game 3 tendency of passing on open looks. "I'm pretty good on basketball instincts," Harden said. "I know when to score. I know when to pass, so I'm pretty sure a lot of it was the right play." Harden took a so-called discount (opting out of a $47.4 million deal this season to sign a more team-friendly extension) to chase a championship with reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Sixers. The 10-time All-Star has a $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season and he will likely decline it and chase more riches in another market. Maybe circumstances change if the 76ers get past Boston and make a deep run. "It's up to him to figure out how to best help us," Embiid said. "He's fine. Sometimes you make them and sometimes you miss them. He made a lot of shots in Game 1. The last few games they haven't been going in. I have the trust in him to keep telling him to be aggressive and keep shooting." But history is against Philly. Not just NBA history -- teams that win Game 3 when a playoff series is tied 1-1 go on to win the series 73% of the time -- but rivalry history. The Celtics eliminated the 76ers in the playoffs in 2020, 2018, 2012, 2002 and 1985. The Sixers haven't beat the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982 -- a year before the Sixers won their last NBA championship. Kevin Durant, Harden's former teammate during an ill-fated run in Brooklyn, scored 39 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 121-114 to cut Denver's lead to 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Devin Booker scored 47 points, shooting 20 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 8 from three-point range, to keep the Suns alive headed into Sunday's Game 4 in Phoenix. Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden, center, passes the ball past Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart, left, Derrick White (9) and Jayson Tatum, right, during the first half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7) goes up to shoot against Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden, left, during the second half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, center, goes up to shoot against Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden (1) during the first half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden (1) goes up to shoot against Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7) during the first half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots as Phoenix Suns center Jock Landale and forward Kevin Durant, right, look on during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal game, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York) Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal game against the Denver Nuggets, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York) Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) rebounds over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal game, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)