The Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets faced off for the second over the past week Monday night. While Houston would be on their home floor this time around, they suffered a similar fate. Behind another masterclass from Joel Embiid, the Sixers won by a final score of 111-91. This victory extended their season-long win streak to seven games. Here are three Sixers observations from the matchup. 

Sixers Observations

1) The Furkan Korkmaz experiment has positive results 

Throughout various points of this season, Furkan Korkmaz has found himself in an expanded role. Due to a lack of ballhandlers, he has been given the opportunity to play point guard. With Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton and Seth Curry all out, Korkmaz was once again the maestro of the Sixers' offense. 

The experiment at backup point guard went better than many expected early in the year, and Korkmaz continues to look comfortable at the position. He went on to have another solid performance against the Rockets. In 28 minutes of work, Korkmaz posted 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists while shooting 50% from the field. 

Running Korkmaz at point guard provides a similar element to the offense as when Curry is there. Because they are known as score-first guards, defenses attack them differently when they get into actions. This often opens up passing lanes that might not be there if someone else were running the offense. 

Korkmaz said after practice Sunday, he feels very comfortable handling the ball, and it shows. Even if it's in small samples, this is a look Doc Rivers should continue to use at times moving forward. 

2) Joel Embiid continues to impose his will 

Little to no surprise, but Joel Embiid's dominant stretch continued with ease in Houston. The All-Star center notched his third career triple-double when these teams met last week and almost did the same Monday night. 

In just 26 minutes, Embiid racked up 31 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, and two blocks. He shot a super-efficient 9-for-16 from the floor and converted all 13 of his free-throw attempts. 

Embiid is putting his full skill set on display every night, and it is equating to countless wins for the Sixers. He has reminded everyone that he is one of the league's most dominant forces and certainly belongs in the conversation for MVP. What's most impressive about this stretch is Embiid has shown zero signs of slowing down anytime soon. 

3) Old-school load management 

In this hectic protocol-filled season of the NBA, rest is extremely vital for teams. With all the rosters playing shorthanded, added time off their feet is worth its weight in gold right now. For the second-straight game, the Sixers managed to pull off what Doc Rivers likes to call “old-school load management.”

Putting teams away early and keeping them down has been an issue for the Sixers in the past, but has been a non-issue as of late. Thanks to a 17-point first quarter from Embiid, they were able to extend their on Houston early. After that, the supporting cast played their part in keeping the game out of reach. 

Outside of Korkmaz, no Sixer played over 26 minutes. Matchups like this are a great opportunity to get stars an early exit, and the Sixers took full advantage. 

Getting the extra rest should pay huge dividends down the line. After traveling home Tuesday, the Sixers will play three games in four days.