Things did not look great for the Philadelphia 76ers early on in their matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. After sleepwalking through most of the first two quarters, the Sixers found themselves with an eight-point halftime deficit to a heavily shorthanded squad.
Similar to the matchup with the Orlando Magic a week prior, the Sixers flipped the switch and completely took over in the second half. When all was said and done, they walked off their home floor with a 117-107 victory.
This win would not have been possible if not for the stellar play of the Sixers' stars. Not only did Joel Embiid continue his dominant reign with 42 points, but Tobias Harris kept his recent hot streak alive as well. In 39 minutes of action, he racked up 33 points and 11 rebounds on an efficient 13-for-19 shooting from the floor.
After the game, players and coaches touched on Harris and his play as of late. First up was Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, who credits him for getting back to making quick decisions with the basketball.
“Just quicker, quicker stuff, quicker decisions. You know, when he does it he has a size and speed advantage, [and] when he doesn’t he allows guys to get into his body, get their hand on the ball and it’s so night and day when he does. He is doing it more, he’s been doing it a lot the last four, five games, you can feel him getting back to the pace of last year, which is important for us,” said Rivers.
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Later on, Embiid touched on how what he has seen from Harris on the court as of late.
“Every game it should be that way, but like I said the last couple games [Tobias Harris] has been coming up clutch, and then obviously at the end of games the ball has to be in my hands, his hands or Tyrese’s [Maxey] hands. And obviously when Seth [Curry] is playing we put the ball in his hands too, but he [Harris] has been excellent. We needed that tonight, he was extremely good against San Antonio too,” Embiid said postgame.
Harris played at a near-All-Star level in 2020-21 but struggled out of the gates this season. Between injuries and health and safety protocols, his play was rather up and down. That being said, the 29-year-old Sixers forward looks to be finding his groove again.
Over his last five games, Harris has looked much more like his old self. He is averaging close to 20 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field and beyond the arc.
It goes without saying how important this resurgence from Harris is for the Sixers as a whole. Embiid has been nothing short of spectacular but still needs production from the supporting cast to get this team over the hump. After a subpar first half of the year, Harris looks ready to step up and be a reliable running mate with Embiid.
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