Key details on Game 4:
- The Sixers outscored the Nets 56-40 in the second half to complete the sweep.
- Tobias Harris led the way with 25 points on 11-19 shooting.
- The Sixers dominated the glass, with 25 second-chance points, to 10 for the Nets.
- It is the Sixers' first sweep of a seven-game playoff series since 1985, Charles Barkley's rookie season.
BROOKLYN – For most of the season, when the Sixers' two stars are healthy and available, Tobias Harris is often an after-thought in the team's half-court offense, standing in the corner to space the floor as the Sixers look to run their offense around their dominant two-man game.
It's a role that Harris has embraced, even if it's not the one that comes most naturally to him.
But in instances when Embiid or Harden are out of the lineup Harris has given the Sixers a luxury that few teams have: a player capable of stepping into a significantly larger role at a moment's notice.
The Sixers' offense was stuck in mud for most of the first half, when they shot just 16-47 from the field and 2-11 from 3-point range. They couldn't make a shot, whether it was a point-blank layup or wide-open 3. Yet, somehow they were miraculously only down eight at the half, in part because Tobias Harris (11 points, 5-8 shooting in the first half) kept them close.
"He played his tail off. His communication out there, he's a pro's pro. He's always there when we need him, and tonight we needed him," teammate Tyrese Maxey said of Harris after the game. "Guys couldn't get it going – I was missing layups, James was missing layups, easy shots, Melton was joking around how he couldn't make a shot in the first half – but Tobias kept us afloat."
The Sixers would go on to outscore the Nets 56-40 after the break, turning an eight point halftime deficit into a relatively easy 96-88 win on Brooklyn's home floor to complete the sweep, denying the Nets the chance to extend the series back to Philadelphia for Game 5. For the Sixers, it was their first sweep of a seven-game playoff series since Charles Barkley's rookie year.
