Fourteen months after he forced his way off the Nets, the Barclays Center crowd reveled in waving goodbye to James Harden.
Harden was enjoying a team-best night Thursday when he was ejected late in the third quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul during the 76ers’ 102-97 victory against the Nets in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series.
Harden ripped the officials for the call, which was escalated from a standard offensive foul upon replay review.
Officiating crew chief Tony Brothers said that Harden was assessed a Flagrant 2 “based on the point of contact directly to the groin.” Harden pushed off into the midsection and below of Royce O’Neale but denied that he went for the male parts, as his teammate Joel Embiid clearly did earlier in the game.
“Unacceptable,” Harden told reporters in the locker room. “Unacceptable Flagrant 2. I’m not labeled as a dirty player. I didn’t hit him in a private area. When somebody is draped on you like that defensively, it’s just a natural basketball reaction. I didn’t hit him hard enough for him to fall down like that.”
Harden collected 21 points, five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes. His eyes widened in shock that the whistle was against him, so one can imagine his surprise when the further penalty was handed out.
“This is a playoff game,” Harden said. “You see things around the league that are much worse than what that play was. Honestly, I didn’t even think it was a foul on me. That can’t happen.”
Harden walked up the tunnel as the noise in the arena increased, with fans waving their white towels and their hands. He was the first of the Nets’ failed “Big 3” to go, when he forced his way to the 76ers in a February 2022 trade.
“It’s out of my hands,” O’Neale said, referencing how the 76ers’ Joel Embiid “kicked” Nic Claxton between the legs and didn’t get ejected in the first quarter. “Maybe it was a make-up call.”
Looking for more offense after an 84-point output in Game 2 that was the second-lowest through the first 20 postseason games across the NBA, head coach Jacque Vaughn turned to the end of the bench and volume scorer Cam Thomas for 11 minutes (all in the first half).
Thomas, who had four 40-point games during the regular season, scored six points on six shots after playing just four minutes across the first two games of the series.
Asked about his diminished role before the game, Thomas said it was Vaughn’s “choice” and he was just staying prepared with no doubt that he could still score against intensified playoff defense.
“I know my game and what I’m capable of — the other team has to adjust to me,” Thomas told The Post. “I feel like what I bring to the table is big. If you can score, you can score. It doesn’t matter if the defense is playing harder or not. I’m a big creator, and if you can create your shot or get to an open spot and knock it down, that’s the biggest part.”
Mikal Bridges, who scored 26 points for the Nets, fell on the sword for the miscommunication that sealed the Nets’ fate.
O’Neale turned the ball over on an inbounds play in the final eight seconds.
“I should’ve just popped and got the ball,” Bridges said. “I was trying to get open and shoot. I just let Royce down.”
Tip-Ins
Hero
Tyrese Maxey finished with 25 points — none bigger than the tie-breaking 3-pointer that put the 76ers in front, 99-96, with 44 seconds remaining.
Zero
The Nets’ bench contributed just 13 points: Seven from Royce O’Neale and six from seldom-used Cam Thomas. Day’Ron Sharpe and Joe Harris didn’t score. Seth Curry did not play.
Unsung Hero
Mikal Bridges poured in 26 points and scored nine points during a 12-0 run that took the Nets from down 60-49 to ahead 61-60.
Key Stat
12: Rebounding edge for the 76ers (46-34), who held edges of 16-9 on second-chance points and 48-42 in points in the paint.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in my career. For a guy to intentionally kick someone in an area none of us want to be kicked at or towards and for him to continue to play, I’ve never seen that before. In a game. And a guy continues to be able to play. Intentional.”
— Jacque Vaughn on Joel Embiid not being ejected after kicking Nic Claxton between the legs
