LOS ANGELES – Everywhere the Sixers go to play, fans are becoming less intrigued with the idea of watching mid-game free throw contest James Harden and Joel Embiid. Head coach Tyronn Lue and the LA Clippers wanted to make it a point of emphasis to keep the duo off the line make someone else beat them.

Joel Embiid came into Friday's game averaging 11.8 free throw attempts per game, easily the highest mark in the NBA. Embiid's teammate, James Harden, ranks third in the NBA with 8.4 free throws attempted per game.

Given that free throws are a hot topic anywhere the Sixers go, Lue was asked how he keeps his players locked in and focused on their respective tasks.

Here are the full pregame exchange between Lue and reporters:

Reporter: When facing guys like Embiid and Harden who can get to the free throw line like they can, how do you keep guys zoned in and not get frustrated when calls go against them?

Tyronn Lue: Well we don’t have a choice. Embiid is number one from the free throw line and James is number three. I think they said if you take away their free throws neither one of those guys would be in the top ten in scoring, so it just tells you how much they’re getting to the free throw line. We just got to do a good job pulling our hands back, making sure we’re playing, not letting them get into the bonus and do the sweep-throughs. They’re going to get some calls because of who they are, but we just got to make sure we’re doing our part.

Reporter: What have you seen that makes the Sixers different with James? We’ve seen some teams remark that they don’t make the second effort defensively often.

Tyronn Lue: I mean I don’t watch them like that, so I don’t know all that. But I know they’re a tough cover and adding James, who is an MVP player, and Embiid who is right there for MVP this year, they’re a tough combination, because now when one goes to the bench you have another guy who can take over and score the ball. And when James goes out, now Embiid comes in he’s scoring the basketball. It makes them tough. Doc does a great job of staggering their minutes so each one of those guys have their own unit.

Reporter: You said you don't watch the Sixers like that, but have you been scouting James Harden and have you seen a difference in him from his Houston days?

Tyronn Lue: Yeah, I think the biggest thing with Harden and it started in Brooklyn as well is that he understands that he can score the basketball at any point in time, but he really does a great job in that first half of getting his teammates involved. I think last game against the Lakers, he might've had five points and then all of a sudden, going into the second half, he had 25 points, so just coming out, I think, making the right plays, getting everybody involved, letting everyone get touches, and then when it's his time to take over down the stretch, he's been doing that. In Houston, he was focused on leading the league in scoring, and doing that, but I think doing both now, is what's really made him dangerous.

As you can see, no disrespect intended or shots fired at anyone, really.

Tyronn Lue went on to praise both James Harden and Joel Embiid postgame, saying his Clippers were simply outmatched following the 122-97 loss.

“That's a good team over there and take nothing away from those guys,” Ty Lue said of the Sixers following the loss. “They played well and considering what happened in Philly, they had on their mind they wanted to come in and prove a point. They played well, we didn't play our best game. Marcus and Reggie struggled for us a little bit tonight, which hurt us, if they're not scoring the basketball.”

At Thursday's media availability before practice, Ty Lue was full of praise for the Sixers big man.

“It’s tough,” Lue said of Joel Embiid. “He's definitely gotten better as a passer out of the double teams because he’s seen a lot of that. Doc and Sam and that group has done a good job of just making him a better passer, reading the defense. With Joker, he’s an excellent passer. He just picks you apart. Every time you double team him he always makes the right pass and the right play. Kinda like double team Joker is like double teaming LeBron. It’s something you shouldn’t do, but when you got somebody 6’7” guarding him, you definitely got to double team him more than you want to. And Embiid, he’s just a physical presence down on the block, gets to the free throw line a lot, creates the contact, very smart. But Joker’s a better passer, but I think Embiid’s more physical, gets to the free throw line a little bit more. And they’re basically two tough covers, so having them back-to-back is gonna be tough.”

James Harden finished with game-highs of 29 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 11-of-11 from the free throw line for the Sixers. Joel Embiid added 27 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the win over the Clippers.

Up next the LA Clippers take another 72 hours off before taking on the Utah Jazz in a Tuesday night TNT game at home. The Sixers, meanwhile, will close out their West coast road trip with a game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon.