James Harden hit out at the Philadelphia 76ers in his introductory media briefing as a Los Angeles Clippers player, resulting in Joel Embiid biting back.
Harden completed a move to the Clippers earlier this week, having fallen out of favour with the leadership in Philadelphia.
The 10-time All-Star broke the assists record last season as Philadelphia went on to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, which they lost to the Boston Celtics.
Harden joined the 76ers after an unhappy stint with the Brooklyn Nets, but in August he criticised Philadelphia's president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who he branded "a liar".
In his first appearance in front of the media since his move to Los Angeles, Harden was asked where it went wrong.
"Changing my role, which media [felt] is ball dominant, which my ball dominance is really effective," he said. "Changing my role, trying to change the narrative, trying to sacrifice and do whatever it takes to win at the highest level. That's not talked about. It's the other BS.
"So me leaving Brooklyn and thinking I'm going to retire as a Sixer, and the front office had other plans. They didn't want me. There's a lot of narratives and people think they have an opinion. But none of that is true.
"[They kept me] on a leash. I think the game and I'm a creator on the court. So if I got a voice to where I can, 'Hey, Coach, I see this. What d'you think about this?' Somebody who trusts me, that believes in me, that understands me. I'm not a system player. I am a system. You know what I mean?"
Harden's former teammate Embiid, who was the league's MVP last season, disagreed, though.
"I think he did a lot of great things for us," Embiid said of Harden.
"But in my opinion, we gave him the ball every single possession, because he's really good. He's an amazing player. Obviously, being that great of a passer, I think we gave him the ball.
"We'd give him the ball every single possession to just go out and, you know, do his thing. And from there he had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself.
"But I thought he did a pretty good job of getting us into an offense and just passing the ball, getting guys open. That's the reason why he won the assist title last year."
Embiid wishes Harden well, though.
"I'm happy that the situation got resolved, and I'm happy for him," he added.
"I hope he has a chance to succeed, make a lot of money, play good basketball and be able to win. And I hope we both make the Finals, but he's on the losing side of it and we are on the winning side of it.
"But I think when you're looking at the situation, from where it probably came from, we couldn't do anything. It was out of our control. So in that situation, you've just got to go with it.
"But I still believe we had a chance [to win together]. We were right there, especially with the team that we have right now. What he is able to add and what he has done, what we've allowed him to do, we gave the ball every single possession.
"It's unfortunate, but we've got to just move on and we've got a good group of guys that can grow and keep getting better."
Harden is set to make his Clippers bow against the New York Knicks next week.
NBA: Maxey, 76ers stun Knicks with late rally for OT win in Game 5
Tyrese Maxey scored seven points in the final 25 seconds of regulation to save Philadelphia’s season and finished with a playoff career-high 46 as the 76ers staved off elimination in their Eastern Conference first-round series with an unlikely 112-106 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
Down six with 28 seconds left in regulation, Maxey converted the rare four-point play with 25 seconds to play, and after Josh Hart’s free throw, hit a 35-foot 3-pointer to tie it at 97 with 8.1 seconds remaining in front of a stunned Madison Square Garden crowd.
Joel Embiid had 19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and nine turnovers for the 76ers, who will host Game 6 on Thursday.
Maxey added nine assists and was 7 of 12 from 3-point range.
Brunson scored 40 points and Hart had 18 with nine rebounds for the Knicks, who were tantalisingly close to reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight season.
Brunson scored the first five points of overtime but Maxey's 3 triggered a 9-0 run that Embiid capped with a 3-point play with 1:40 left for a 106-102 lead. Brunson tied it with a 3 but Kelly Oubre Jr. made the tiebreaking basket with 62 seconds to play, and Tobias Harris sealed it with two free throws.
Short-handed Bucks stay alive
Khris Middleton had 29 points and 12 rebounds and Bobby Portis added 29 with 10 boards as the Milwaukee Bucks stayed alive with a 115-92 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 despite missing leading scorers Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Portis had the highest point total of his playoff career and made amends after he was ejected from a Game 4 loss. Middleton had his third straight game with at least 25 points.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 16 points and Myles Turner added 13 for the Pacers, who still lead the series 3-2 and will try to close it out at home in Game 6 on Thursday. Indiana hasn’t advanced past the first round since 2014.
The Bucks got a balanced effort without Antetokounmpo and Lillard, as every starter scored in double figures. Antetokounmpo has missed the entire series and hasn’t played since straining his left calf on April 9. Lillard sat out a second consecutive game after injuring his Achilles tendon in Game 3 on Friday.
Cavs edge Magic for 3-2 lead
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and Evan Mobley came up with a huge block in the final seconds to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 104-103 win over the Orlando Magic to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference series.
After Mitchell missed a jumper with 15.7 seconds left, Franz Wagner drove the left side for a potential game-tying layup but was denied at the rim by Mobley with six seconds left.
Mitchell, who had 14 fourth-quarter points, was then fouled and made two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining to up Cleveland’s lead to 104-100. Paolo Banchero made a 3-pointer in the final second for the final margin.
The Cavs bounced back at home after losing two road games and can finish off the Magic in Orlando in Game 6 on Friday.
Max Strus scored 16 points to help Cleveland offset the loss of starting center Jarrett Allen (bruised rib) and Mobley added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Banchero scored 16 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed eight rebounds, but the next closest Magic player was Wagner with 14 points.
Celtics mindset needed to change after Porzingis injury - Horford
Al Horford said that the Boston Celtics needed to change their mindset after losing Kristaps Porzingis to injury during their convincing Game 4 102-88 victory over the Miami Heat.
The Celtics now have a 3-1 series lead after Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points to edge the top seeds one step closer to the Conference Semifinals.
The win came at a cost though, as Porzingis was forced off with right calf tightness just before the end of the second quarter, but the Celtics rallied to win their sixth straight game in Miami.
Horford replaced Porzingis for the second half and told ESPN that the team had to change their approach after losing a key player.
“All of us, our mindset has to shift," he said.
“I talked to Luke [Kornet] and Xavier [Tillman] and let them know that all of us have to be ready to step up and do a little more because KP was playing so well defensively.
“It’s definitely concerning for me. He's in good spirits, but we don't know what it's going to be. I'm just hoping that it's nothing serious, and he can get back to us quick.”
Bam Adebayo finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists for Miami, but they struggled on offence once more, with Tyler Herro scoring 19 points and Caleb Martin adding 18.
The Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra, bemoaned his side’s struggles to get more points on the board, saying: “Offensively, we struggled again. We had some decent looks early on, weren't able to knock those down, and Derrick White was very good tonight — obviously. He was just very efficient, very good.
“I know in my heart we have a game that's there. It's just a matter of the ball going in a few more times, and all of a sudden it ignites.”
'I'll support whatever he decides' - Davis backs LeBron James ahead of decision on NBA future
Anthony Davis says he will give LeBron James the space he needs to make the right decision on his NBA future.
The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a 4-1 series defeat to the Denver Nuggets, who won Game 5 108-106 on Monday.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game in the final 30 seconds.
But with 3.6 seconds remaining, Jamal Murray, who was playing through a calf strain, hit a pull-up 14-footer to condemn the Lakers to an early exit.
After the game, James said that “he does not have an answer” on his NBA future after 21 years in the league.
However, Davis is confident that James will take his time over the decision, make the correct call for himself and tell everyone else when the time is right.
“I mean, he has been in this position numerous times in his career, where he had to make a decision ultimately for himself and his family. I'll be right there supporting whatever he decides to do,” Davis told ESPN.
“It's still fresh. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not even on his mind right now.
"But I'm pretty sure he'll come talk to me, tell me what's going on before he becomes public with the situation, just to keep me in the loop.
“Obviously, it's been a great five seasons with him. If he does decide to come back, obviously this isn't what we want to be left at, losing in the first round.
"If he does, obviously our goal is to come back and be a championship contender, stay healthy and give Laker Nation what they deserve."
The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last year, with their late-game execution proving to be the difference once again in this series.
Murray, who also hit a buzzer-beater to win Game 2, was advised to sit the game out by management due to his calf injury but proved decisive as he scored 12 of his 32 points in a fourth quarter in which the teams repeatedly traded leads.
Asked if he had debated sitting the game out, Murray said: "I came in a little earlier to see if I was going to be able to go, and I felt like I could.
"They [management] just didn't want me to risk it. They told me no.
"And I didn't say no. I didn't want to leave my teammates out there. We've been battling all season.
"Everybody's hurt at some point, everybody's going through something, and I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to play this game.
"I'm just glad they listened to me - and listened to me listening to my body - and just trusting me with it."
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance for Denver.
Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
The Nuggets will continue their championship defence with a second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced on Sunday by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver eliminated Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a five-game series win.
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