Sixers-Nets Game 4 takeaways: James Harden’s sacrifices; benefits of playing without Joel Embiid earlier in the season

NEW YORK — James Harden is making sacrifices.

The time the 76ers played without key players this season was beneficial.

And the Brooklyn Nets just might have been the worst team in the NBA playoffs.

Those three things stood out Saturday as the Sixers completed a first-round sweep of the Nets with a 96-88 Game 4 victory at the Barclays Center.

As he often does, Harden played a major role in the outcome of the Sixers’ victory. The point guard finished with 17 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in the series-clinching win.

But Harden has reinvented himself this season. It’s actually the third time he’s done so over his 14-year career.

Harden was a standout sixth man for the Oklahoma City Thunder during his first three seasons. Then he became a three-time scoring champion and 2018 MVP during his eight seasons as a Houston Rocket. In Brooklyn, he was part of the three-headed monster with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. And now with the Sixers, the future Hall of Famer plays the role of a facilitating second fiddle to Joel Embiid.

That’s a role many players of his stature would balk at. But Harden is focused on winning his first NBA title. He proved that by taking a $15 million pay cut so the Sixers could sign P.J. Tucker and Daniel House Jr. this offseason.

“I told myself this year, I’m all in on sacrifice,” Harden said. “Whether it’s the money or my role, just letting everything go and just sacrificing and see what it give me.”

On Saturday, Harden made 4 of 18 shots while struggling to finish at the rim. He made just 9 of 34 two-point shots during the opening-round series against Brooklyn.

“It’s just playing different,” Harden said. “Playing different styles, and tonight having way more opportunities. … I’m usually just setting people up. There’s a lot more attacks, attacks, attacks throughout the course of a 40 game. I had plenty of opportunities. I just didn’t [make them]. … all in all, a great series.”

Harden had a plenty of scoring opportunities because Joel Embiid missed the game with a sprained right knee.

Playing without Embiid and several other key players is nothing new for the Sixers, especially not this season. In one key stretch, the Sixers were without Embiid, Harden, and Tyrese Maxey.

One can argue that playing with an undermanned roster during several portions of this season helped the Sixers Saturday. It meant they knew how to win a big game without Embiid.

“I think we did benefit from it,” Maxey said. “A lot of guys missed time. I missed a lot of time. James missed a lot of time. The big fella didn’t miss that much time, but he did miss time.

“Joel missed time, and guys had to step up.”

» READ MORE: Tobias Harris was worth every penny in Sixers sweep

Paul Reed, who started in place of Embiid, and reserve guard De’Anthony Melton stepped up their games on Saturday.

Reed had 10 points and 15 rebounds, one steal, and two assists. Melton had 15 points.

“We want everybody to be healthy,” Maxey said. “I think this is going to be big for us. I think the second-round [series] begins in a week or so.”

The shooting guard believes the Sixers will have time to rest their minds and bodies before the second round begins.

“And we’ll have time for everybody to relax and decompress,” he said.

The Sixers might have had the easiest first-round opponent in the Nets. The squad boasted a rising star in Mikal Bridges and several three-point shooters. The problem is the squad had no shot creators, its three-pointers were inconsistent, and few players who actually could dribble penetrate.

In this series, their offensive game plan was to shoot at least 40 three-pointers a game. They rarely made in-game adjustments and had to resort to intimidation tactics.

This team was completely different from the squad that was expected to contend for the NBA title at the beginning of the season.

But they traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 6. Three days later, Brooklyn traded Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. Shortly afterward, Ben Simmons no longer was in the Nets’ rotation.

Brooklyn was 32-19 before Irving was traded. They finished 13-17 the rest of the regular season. While Brooklyn has a bright future, it was far from a competitive team this postseason.

Best performance: This goes to Tobias Harris. The Sixers forward finished with a game-high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds, one steal and a block.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Joe Harris. The Nets guard had four points while making 1 of 5 shoots, including his four three-point attempts.

Best defensive player: This goes to Nic Claxton. The Nets center finished with four blocks.

Worst statistic: This goes to Brooklyn making just 9 of 37 three-pointers.

Best statistic: I have to give this to the Sixers foul shooting. They made 15 of 16 free throws.