The Philadelphia 76ers (37-19) took on the Houston Rockets (13-42) on a night when Philadelphians needed something to feel good about. The Sixers didn't lay a beatdown against the team with the worst record in the NBA but they did secure a win by a score of 123-104.
Let's break down the Sixers' win over the Rockets.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-14 FG shooting
The lowly Rockets offered the perfect chance to see number 21's 3rd straight game of at least 35 points and 11 rebounds. He got his night started off on the right foot with a pull-up shot from the nail and although he scored efficiently, he was loose with the ball and got it poked away or stolen often. Although he got himself right to start the second half, he took a step back to let Harden and Maxey go off, sacrificing some stat-sheet love but doing enough to collect the win.
James Harden: 28 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 9-18 FG shooting
Facing off against another one of his former teams, Harden got the ball where it needed to be and picked up his scoring efficiency from the field in the second half. He was really cooking in the third quarter when he made four triples and scored 14 points. In the fourth, he led a unit with bench players into some of Philadelphia's biggest leads of the night.
Tyrese Maxey: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 10-16 FG shooting
Maxey was on one again. He got really going from downtown, finished at the rim on almost all of his attempts from there and continued to make defensive plays. The worst part of his evening was when he came up short on a jumper after breaking Usman Garuba's ankles. Even with that blown highlight opportunity, he was great.
Rockets player notes:
Jalen Green: 29 points, 3 rebounds, 4assists, 2 steals, 6-20 FG shooting
Green drew fouls and made some nice passes to his teammates (at least in the first half). Those were his main contributions until erupting for a 17-point third quarter. The Rockets ran their offense through him almost exclusively in the second half and it didn't work, to say the least. He boosted his average in points per game but it came on an inefficient volume of shots. Impressively, he hit 15 of his 17 free throws.
Alperen Sengun: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 5-9 FG shooting
Sengun's crafty play made him tough to contain and made the Sixers' off-ball defenders stay on high alert. While he didn't provide much resistance on the defensive end, his interior finishing and relentless fighting for post positioning gave Embiid trouble. His scoring volume didn't keep up, though, and he finished with a stat line that's a bit misleading. He played very well.
Jabari Smith Jr.: 10 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-14 FG shooting
The third overall pick from last year's draft did a very good job crashing the boards. His activity was huge for the Rockets and allowed him to make an impact on the game despite a bad shooting night and five fouls. Props to him for trying to throw one down on Embiid, though.
Game notes:
1st half
- Melton guarded Green and pursued him tightly as he navigated screens. Still, the other Rockets found opportunities to score in transition and after offensive rebounds, keeping them slightly ahead for a little bit. Slam Dunk Contest participant Kenyon Martin Jr. treated the crowd to some dunks.
- Embiid and Harden having their two-man game generating good looks wasn't enough for the Sixers, who came out devoid of tangible energy, to fully pull ahead of the Rockets. Houston kept looking for (and finding) fast-break buckets.
- While they looked to pull ahead, Jalen McDaniels made his home debut. He was the second Sixers substitution (following Maxey) and came in for Tucker, which suggests Rivers is already showing some real trust in him. His first points came on a coast-to-coast layup through a foul.
- Once again, Paul Reed was the first backup center to play. With Dewayne Dedmon coming aboard, we'll see how much longer that is truly the case. He played some solid defense on Sengun while Maxey and Milton each scored in transition, one of which came off of a steal from Reed. Philly went up by 11 points less than two minutes into the second quarter before a 10-0 Houston run.
- The Sixers' rebounding woes were on full display in this one. The young, athletic Rockets got plenty of second-chance opportunities with Philly not boxing out nor strongly securing the ball. Philly was fortunate that Houston didn't make a single triple in the first half.
- At the break, the Sixers held the lead but only by a score of 55-48.
2nd half
- Harden and Maxey connected on three buckets to start the half, two of which were triples. Embiid found Harden or a three, then vice versa. Philly's three-point assault, led by Harden as both a shooter and passer, allowed them to build up a big lead.
- Green started getting a few more shots to fall but was still too inefficient to keep the Rockets close to retaking the lead once they stopped generating offensive rebounds. The scoring talent is definitely there with him and he showed it in the third quarter with some impressive buckets and more foul shots.
- The Sixers' Harden-and-bench lineup kept the Sixers well ahead thanks to the Beard himself and Maxey. They pushed the lead to 19 points off of a Maxey pull-up triple. McDaniels and Reed combined for some solid minutes, which could help convince Rivers to make the pairing a more permanent part of his rotation.
- Both sides emptied their benches with several minutes left. The Philly crowd was happy to see Boban Marjanovic, even as he cooked Reed on a few plays.
Random thoughts:
- Despite the Super Bowl loss, Eagles fans made enough noise in the city to make Jabari Smith Jr. record an Instagram video telling them to pipe down.
- Wells Fargo Center is undefeated at finding one person to highlight on the dance cam that the entire crowd wants to see.
In their last game before the All-Star break, the Sixers will host the Cleveland Cavaliers for a nationally televised game on Wednesday.
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