The Philadelphia 76ers (19-12) wrapped up their successful home stand with a matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers (19-15). The Sixers struggled against a high-caliber team but came all the way back thanks to another Joel Embiid masterclass and a historic James Harden performance, winning their seventh consecutive game by a score of 119-114.

Let's break down the Sixers' thrilling win over the Clippers.

Sixers player analysis

Joel Embiid: 44 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 18-30 FG shooting

Embiid had a great game and was the sole reason the Sixers had a fighting chance. He simply couldn't be stopped, scoring from all over the place on numerous Clippers defenders. This game was a great example of how dangerous he can be off the ball, as he scored using Harden's playmaking and sealing off his defender numerous times.

The Sixers eventually woke up and helped Embiid but he absolutely saved them early in the game.

James Harden: 20 points, 21 assists, 11 rebounds, 6-17 FG shooting

Harden made his case to be one of the most efficient gift givers in the world, especially amongst bearded dudes. He had a whopping six assists in the first nine minutes and 10 in the first half with a variety of passes and continued to make plays all night, tallying a new career-high. His look-ahead passes, by the way, are starting to become a consistent threat.

But his shooting was frigid. His inability to blow by defenders was on full display and it hampered his effectiveness when he didn't have Embiid to lean on. Still, he took advantage of Embiid when he was in the game, feeding him shots and spreading the ball around to others, too.

Tobias Harris: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 6-12 FG shooting

Harris had a solid game but not one that compares to his recent outings. He made some shots, tallied a few putback layups and provided some versatile defense, most notably against Leonard down the homestretch. In the past, Harris' less prolific scoring nights meant he was a non-factor. But tonight, he still played a key part in a great win.

De'Anthony Melton: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 5-10 shooting

Against the team that he cheered hardest for in his childhood, Melton came through with a very respectable game. He was disruptive on defense — especially on consecutive third-quarter possessions where he got a steal and a fastbreak assist to help the Sixers come back — and hit clutch shots.

Clippers player analysis

Kawhi Leonard: 28 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 12-19 FG shooting

Leonard started strong by making his first three shots of the night. The buckets didn't stop there, as he scored. No matter who matched up against him, he broke them down defensively and rose up for jumper after jumper. He also made some plays for his teammates during his uber-efficient scoring night. Even though he's not what he used to be, he can still light it up.

Paul George: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 7-18 FG shooting

George took the reigns from Leonard after his hot start and scored 12 points in the first quarter on 4-8 shooting. He continued putting the pressure on the Sixers defense and was very good on defense, per usual, though his scoring trailed off after the first.

Norman Powell: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-13 shooting

The Clippers' bench is filled with guys who can have a big impact on any given night. Powell came off the pine to score 12 points on 5-6 shooting and dish three assists in the first half. He played down the stretch and got several more crunch-time buckets.

Ivica Zubac: 7 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 3-3 shooting

Zubac commanded the game when he played with the second unit in the first half. He overpowered Montrezl Harrell for close buckets and boards and even blocked Embiid on a jump shot — true story. Afterward, though, he wasn't a huge difference-maker aside from his game-leading rebound total. LA closed the game with Nicolas Batum at center.

Game trends

1st half

  • To start, George guarded Harden while Kawhi matched up with Harris. Meanwhile, Melton, Tucker and Harris rotated between guarding George, Leonard and Marcus Morris.
  • The Clippers got off to a hot start thanks largely to Leonard and partly because of some fouls and poor defensive rotations from the Sixers. Embiid, though, had it going early to the tune of 10 points in just over six minutes.
  • Wanna guess which Sixers player was drawing doubles in the post and making the right reads out of them? Nope, not Embiid. It was Harris, who got a bucket and helped ignite ball movement as he backed down his defender. Embiid did his usual damage from the post but also got some buckets as a roller/popper, scoring 15 in the opening frame on 7-9 shooting.
  • The Clippers diced up the Sixers' defense, earning a lot of open triples. Rivers called timeout with 6:27 left in the half after a wide-open corner triple and by that point, LA had shot 8-14 from downtown.
  • The Clippers led 63-51 at the break, shooting 61 percent from the field while Philly shot just 45.8 percent.

2nd half

  • The Sixers finally forced the Clippers into shooting like a normal team in the third quarter, outscoring them 18 to 11 in the first seven minutes to force a Ty Lue timeout.
  • The Harden-Embiid pick-and-roll/pop is great right now and is going to look even better with time. Embiid had it going and got a lot of good looks after relocating to various locations (both the rim or somewhere in the midrange) after screening.
  • Doc Rivers left the starters in for much longer than usual in the third quarter, though he was right to do so given the run they were on. After letting Harden get run with an all/mostly bench unit in the first half to poor results, he let Embiid do so in the third. That lineup, which also featured Melton, Shake Milton, Georges Niang and Danuel Hosue Jr., put got the game to a tie by the end of the third.
  • Milton, a famous Clippers killer, scored eight points in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. A Harden dime to Niang on a transition triple got Wells Fargo Center loud as the Sixers' lead grew to eight points after being down by as much as 20.
  • The Clippers notched three old-fashioned three-point plays in a row (two from Leonard), helping them tie the game back up. The Sixers let them hang around due to some untimely shooting fouls later in the fourth quarter but ultimately held onto the win.

Random rumblings

  • The weather in Philadelphia today was miserable. The temperature dipped into single digits with a brutal, strong wind. I don't think jokes comparing it to Harden's shooting are fair.
  • One of the Sixers' dance squad got proposed to by her boyfriend in a stunt in which he emerged from a blow-up Franklin costume and the real Franklin the Dog held up a sign asking the question.
  • Rivers made a last-ditch effort to get on Sixers fans' nice list by going with Paul Reed in the second half over Harrell. Reed mostly held his own in his few minutes of action.
  • P.J. Tucker only played five second-half minutes.

The Sixers' will now hit the road for a four-game road trip, starting with a Christmas matchup at noon EST against the New York Knicks.