It probably didn’t turn out exactly as James Harden had imagined, but the Six Star’s Allies guard made his home debut on Wednesday night, helping his team come back to beat the Knicks and improve to 3-0 with him on the court.
He scored 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 123-108 win over the Sixers.
Joel Embiid recorded 27 points and 12 rebounds. Tyris Maxi scored 25 points.
The Sixers will face the Cavaliers on Friday night in Philadelphia. Here are observations of their victory over New York:
Harden must work for his first victory at home
Harden and Sixers almost missed a few potential instant players in the audience.
The team started 2 to 9 from the floor and Harden saw a three on the wing and a floater rattling around the hoop and out. The sailing attempt was discovered after a nice double action with Tobias Harris and Embiid. Harden also made a U-turn, trying a daring pass across the court for Mathis Tiboul. Jericho Sims grabbed an offensive board and scored the ball to put New York ahead 18-9.
However, it didn’t take long for Harden to reverse the game’s momentum. He transforms one and one laying and aa step back three. Thybulle then made a three-pointer and kept it to level the game at 20-all, breaking a 1-for-16 stretch from a distance.
Harden settled into a familiar move and didn’t seem to have much trouble scoring 19 points in the first half.
There were no questions about Harden’s intelligence, but he looked physically strong. His line drives were explosive and he was determined to play by contact on Wednesday and secure a home debut.
Problems in defense in minutes other than Embiid
The game got worse for Sixers when Embiid headed to the bench.
Harden could not carry the lineup and three or four players on the bench to succeed, missing two foul shots and a three-pointer at the end of the quarter, and the Sixers trailed 44-28 early in the second quarter after an easy shot by RJ Barrett. who finished with 30 points and seven assists.
It would be hard to exaggerate how poor the Sixers’ defense was during this period, both in the transition and in the half-court. No player on the floor made a positive defensive impact and the whole group seemed a few steps back. Even with Furkan Korkmaz on the bench after another bad experience, the Knicks felt comfortable attacking every Sixer on the floor. Harden’s five stolen thefts and Sixers’ ability to force frequent turnovers in New York covered up some of the team’s defensive problems against the Knicks on Sunday, but the stops seem hard to connect when Embiid and Thybulle are out.
One glaring weakness was the rim protection. Rivers stayed with Paul Milsap as a backup for Embiid and the veteran did not provide a meaningful deterrence for the Knicks. The defending teams were also worrying for the Sixers in the first half, although much of it was just a byproduct of New York’s big men ‘victory over Embiid.
Rivers said before the game that he was not sure how the situation at the Sixers reserve center would eventually shake. He even mentioned the idea of a committee approach, but noted that this was not his preference. Although Rivers indicated before the game that Willie Cowley-Stein would soon get a chance in the rotation, the 28-year-old did not play until the last minute and 15 seconds.
The Sixers overtook the Knicks by two points in the minutes of Milsap in the second half, which felt like a huge victory, given the continuing instability of the team in defense. Maxey’s presence was massive when he picked up the Sixers with aggressive thinking and gave up three. Kentucky head coach John Calipari watched everything from his place on the court.
Embiid grinned as he saw Maxey make a difficult three-pointer to increase the Sixers’ lead to 112-99 in the fourth quarter. In three games, the Sixers have a conscientious trio for points.
Korkmaz did not appear in the second half until the end of the time. He might get another chance at some point, but removing him from the rotation was justified and could certainly have happened sooner.
It is still crucial to Embiid’s diet
Just like on Sunday, Embiid committed two early fouls on Mitchell Robinson. But Embiid was disappointed in the first half.
He turned the ball three times before halftime, disagreed with a few whistles and scored a technical foul in the second quarter. Robinson even blocked the Embiid jumper, which is a rare sight. The game, after attempting a career-high 27 free throws, Embiid crossed 11 for 13 from the foul line.
Harden stared at the wide-open three-pointer to start the third quarter, but instead chose to hit Embiid in the fight. The unselfish decision paid off, as Embiid leaned over and went to bed. Embiid then drained a three-pointer assisted by Harden in the Sixers’ next reign, and the team’s deficit suddenly became just one point.
No one would mind Harden trying this long-distance jumper, but it’s obvious that he admits that the Sixers are at their best when Embiid is fully focused and confident. Harden is happy to save everyone with a fantastic, challenging game, but he is on a team that must thrive on offense if he gives priority to Embiid’s efficiency and nutrition. So far, so good.
Tobias Harris scored his third foul early in the third quarter and then suffered a rough offensive. Harden was annoyed when Harris rejected an open three-pointer and instead got involved in the traffic, keeping his eyes on the veteran ahead and telling him “Come on” when the Sixers returned to defense.
However, Harris’s performance has improved since the last two games, as he scored 14 points in a 5-on-10 shootout, seven rebounds and two blocks.