The Philadelphia 76ers finally have James Harden back in their lineup after surviving a month without him. However, the Sixers couldn't secure the win against his former squad, the Houston Rockets, in a double-overtime contest.
The Sixers benefitted from Harden's playmaking but he struggled to score from the field, especially as the game went on, and the Rockets took a huge win from under them. Doc Rivers said that the execution on offense “didn't make the right plays” down the homestretch and explained the many mistakes they made on defense.
“We fouled the entire game. Just bad, undisciplined fouls,” Rivers told reporters after the Sixers' third consecutive loss. “They looked us in the eye, beat us off the entire dribble the entire night. We were late to helps. Number one: we just gotta stop getting beat the entire game. Defensively, I thought we were not at our best tonight, clearly.”
The Rockets, fueled by big games from Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., decimated the Sixers' perimeter defense, which allowed them to keep up with an improved offense getting its lead playmaker back. Joel Embiid scored 39 points and Tobias Harris added 27 but it wasn't enough. Harden scored 21 points and dished seven assists but shot 4-19 from the field and had his game-winning attempt blocked at the end of regulation.
Rivers explained some of the work the Sixers have ahead of them over the next three days before facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. “Establishing our roles will be what we’ll do the next three days. Getting some practice time together will be great as well,” the Sixers coach said.
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