How a Song Helped the 76ers Turn Around Their Playoff Series

The 76ers have a chance to close out their second-round playoff series against the Celtics tonight thanks to a convincing 115–103 win in Boston on Tuesday. But the real key to the series came earlier, in Game 4 on Sunday.

In what was a must-win game for Philadelphia, its two biggest stars—Joel Embiid and James Harden—showed up and showed off to combine for 76 points. Every point mattered in what ended up being an overtime buzzer beater in Philly with the Sixers coming out on top by one point.

The 76ers got off to a strong start with the starters gelling well, as they held a 14-point lead mid-way through the second quarter. By the end of the first half, the 76ers led 59–50. After three quarters, the Sixers had still maintained a nine-point lead, with Harden and Embiid scoring 57 out of the team’s 99 points. The Celtics stormed back to take a five point lead with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before the 76ers tied it up right before the end of regulation. With the Celtics ahead by one with less than a minute left in overtime, Harden drilled a three to seal the deal on the Sixers 116-115 victory.

So what attributed to the outbreak success of James Harden in Game 4? Two things definitely played a role.

In a rare text exchange, coach Doc Rivers sent Harden a seven minute gospel song—“You Know My Name”—before the pivotal game. Harden talked about it afterwards.

“I’m on my way to the game, and I get a text from Doc,” he said. “It’s a gospel song, and I'm like, ‘All right, whatever.’ So, I just tell my homies, ‘Let’s play the song.’ It’s a seven-minute song, but I let the whole song play. I was like, ‘All right, there’s got to be some kind of good juju in this song, or however he’s feeling, and I want to feel like that.’ And I guess it worked.”

But that wasn’t the only motivation that Harden had in Sunday’s game.

After two rough shooting nights, the former MVP and 10x All Star had a special guest on hand to witness his clutch Game 4 performance. Harden made a promise months ago to John Hao, a Michigan State shooting survivor who was paralyzed from the chest down, that when he was healthy enough, he would help him get to a game. That finally came to fruition Sunday night. Harden dropped 42 points in front of one of his biggest fans and supporters. Then he gave John the shoes he wore when he made his game-winning 3 pointer.

Harden and Embiid continued their strong play in Game 5. Now they hope to bring that same chemistry back to Philly for Game 6. And the Sixers always have a secret weapon if they need it. After Game 4, forward PJ Tucker mentioned the importance of the gospel song. “He [Doc] better play it again,” he said, looking at Harden smiling and laughing. “He better play it again.”

With the 76ers on the verge of making the conference finals, they are looking for any edge—even if it’s a gospel song.