James Harden Ridiculed by Fans as Joel Embiid, 76ers Lose G3 to Jayson Tatum, Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers dropped Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the visiting Boston Celtics 114-102 on Friday night.

While there were multiple reasons for the disappointing defeat, none was bigger than a rough outing for guard James Harden, who shot just 3-of-14 and committed five first-half turnovers. He has made just five of his last 28 shots in the past two games.

Harden started this series by dropping 45 points (15 in the fourth quarter) in a 119-115 upset win over the Celtics in Game 1 sans MVP winner Joel Embiid, who was sideline with a sprained right LCL.

It's been a struggle ever since for Harden, however, who shot just 2-of-14 (0-of-6 from three) in a 121-87 blowout loss in Game 2. That was a disastrous effort for the entire team, however, as Boston outscored Philadelphia 64-38 in the second half.

The 76ers had a chance to win in Game 3 and could not take advantage.

Embiid was fantastic with 30 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. De'Anthony Melton came off the bench for 14 points, eight boards and four steals. And the 76ers trailed by just four with under four minutes left after an Embiid tip-in.

But Boston scored the next five points and pulled away. Harden had dug the 76ers too deep a hole. He finished with a game-high 11 assists, but Jayson Tatum (27 points, 10 boards, five assists) and the C's took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Simply put, the 76ers need Harden to play far better than he has over the past two games to have any chance of getting back in this series.

On Friday, Twitter bluntly voiced its opinion on Harden's Game 3.

Philadelphia will host Boston for Game 4 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.