James Harden didn't appear quite the way he had imagined, but the Sixers All-Star guard won his home debut on Wednesday night, helping his team beat the Knicks and improve to 3-0 with them on the court. helped to do. I
He posted 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 123-108 victory by the Sixers.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Tyrese Maxi scored 25 points.
The Sixers will face the Cavaliers in Philadelphia on Friday night. Here are observations on his win over New York:
Harden will have to work for first home win
Harden and the Sixers recalled some potential immediate crowd-pleasers.
The team took 2 for 9 from the floor and Harden hit a wing three-pointer and floater to both the hoop and outside. Floater's attempt was open after a double drag action with Tobias Harris and Embiid. Harden also scored a turnover in an audacious, full-court pass attempt for Matisse Thiebull. Jericho Sims caught an offensive board and placed the ball to put New York ahead 18-9.
However, it didn't take Harden long to turn the pace of the game. He converted an end-one lap and a step-back three. Thiboul then shaped a transition triple and canned the game to a 20-all tie, breaking the 1-for-16 stretch from long distance.
Harden settled into a familiar groove and didn't have much trouble getting 19 points in the first half.
There were no questions about Harden's intelligence, but he appeared to be physically strong. His straight-line drive has been explosive, and he appeared determined to play through the contact and ensure a home debut win on Wednesday.
Defensive Problems in Non-Ambide Minutes
The game turned sour for the Sixers when Embiid turned to the bench.
Harden could not lead the lineup to success with himself and three or four bench players, missing two foul shots and a quarter-end three-pointer, and the Sixers 44–28 after an easy dunk by RJ Barrett in the second quarter. lagged behind. , who finished with 30 points and seven assists.
It would be difficult to exaggerate how poor the Sixers' defense was during that period, both in transition and half court. None of the players on the floor made a positive defensive impression and the whole group looked back a few steps. Even after Furkan Korkamaz had another bad stint on the bench, the Knicks were comfortable attacking any Sixer on the floor. Harden's five steals and the Sixers who forced repeated New York turnovers covered some of the team's defensive issues against the Knicks on Sunday, but it seems tough enough to string together when Embiid and Thibull are out.
One glaring weak spot was the rim safety. Rivers stuck with Paul Milsap as Embiid's backup and the veteran provided little meaningful resistance to the Knicks drivers. Defensive rebounding was also troublesome for the Sixers in the first half, though much of it was a byproduct of the New York bigs defeating Embiid.
Rivers said before the game he was unsure how the Sixers' backup center position would eventually shake up. He also mentioned the idea of the committee's approach but noted that it was not his priority. The 28-year-old didn't play for the last minute and 15 seconds, despite giving Rivers pregame hints that Willie Coley-Stein would soon have a chance in the rotation.
The Sixers got the Knicks out by two points in the second-half minute of Milsap, which felt like a major victory given the team's continued defensive instability. Maxi's presence was massive as he picked up the Sixers with an aggressive mindset and step-back three. Kentucky head coach John Calipari watched it all from his courtside seat.
Embiid smiled after Maxi made a difficult three in the fourth quarter to extend the Sixers' lead to 112-99. Through three games, the Sixers have had a real scoring trio.
In the second half the Korkamaz Garbage did not appear until the time. Maybe he'll get another chance at some stage, but he needed to be removed from the rotation and certainly could have been quicker.
It's still important to feed the Embiid
As on Sunday, Embiid made two early fouls on Mitchell Robinson. But Embiid was disappointed during the first half.
He swung the ball three times before halftime, disagreed with several whistles, and picked up a technical foul in the second quarter. Robinson also blocked an ambiide jumper, which is a rare sight. Game after a career-high 27 free throw attempts, Embiid made 11 for 13 from the foul line.
Harden clocked a wide-open three to start the third quarter, but opted to hit Embiid in the paint instead. The selfless decision paid off as Embiid took a prank, and a layoff. Embiid then pulled out a three with an assist from Harden in the Sixers' next possession and the team's loss was suddenly just one point.
No one would have noticed Harden trying that long-distance jumper, but it's clear he recognizes that the Sixers are at their best when Embiid is fully focused and confident. Harden is happy to take everyone out with superb, tricky playmaking, but he should thrive aggressively if he is on a team that prioritizes efficiency and feeds Embiid. So far, it's going very well.
Tobias Harris picked up his third foul early in the third quarter and then experienced an offensive patch. When Harris denied an open three and dribbled into traffic, Harden became irritated, keeping his gaze forward and calling it "come on" as the Sixers came back to defense.
Harris's output improved over the previous two games, however, shooting 5-for-10, shooting seven rebounds and recording 14 points on two blocks.