Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons replacement, James Harden, has taken little time to adjust to his new team, playing a starring role on his 76ers debut.
Harden had 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds while All-Star teammate Joel Embiid added 34 points and 10 rebounds as Philadelphia routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-102 on the road.
Philadelphia finally got to see how its star duo worked together after Harden missed his new team’s first two games following the trade from Brooklyn with a hamstring injury.
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The results were promising, particularly where Embiid and Harden thrive – at the free-throw line.
Embiid, who had 21 free throws in a double-overtime loss to Minnesota in November, was 11-of-13 from the line. Harden was 8-of-9 as the 76ers went 30-of-36 overall.
While Sixers fans were overjoyed to see Harden in action for the first time, no one was more excited than Embiid, who had admittedly grown tired of being Simmons’ teammate.
“You should’ve seen my face every single time, especially in the fourth,” he said after the win.
“In the first three quarters he was making plays for all of us. That was probably the most wide open I’ve ever been in my career. I had a lot of easy baskets.
“I used to have to work for everything, but in the fourth quarter the shot-making ability, the shot-creation, you should’ve seen my face, I mean, I’ve never had this, nothing close to it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 25 points, and D’Angelo Russell had 21. But the Timberwolves couldn’t replicate the dramatic win in Philadelphia earlier this season.
The 76ers didn’t have Harden – or Simmons, who was traded to Brooklyn along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks for Harden – in November.
Harden, the 2018 league MVP, hadn’t played since February 2 due to the injury, delaying his pairing with Embiid. Philadelphia believes it finally has the top-level duo, and a strong third piece in Tobias Harris, to break through in the Eastern Conference.
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The 76ers started the day third in the East. They have won four of five.
In Philadelphia’s first game following the All-Star break, Embiid controlled the first quarter from the line. He was 7-of-8 shooting on free throws and had 10 points and six rebounds in the quarter.
The 76ers used a 15-0 run to take a 16-6 lead and never trailed again.
Minnesota, coming off a 119-114 win over Memphis a night earlier, got to 51-48 late in the second quarter. But Philadelphia closed the half on a 15-1 run after Matisse Thybulle had a putback dunk right before the buzzer off a missed 3-pointer from Harris. – AP