The Sixers (18-12) hosted the Los Angeles Clippers (19-14) on Friday. Philadelphia wanted to sweep its seven-game home-stand. Los Angeles aimed to win its third consecutive game. James Harden went for 20 points, 21 assists, and 11 rebounds to lead the Sixers to a massive comeback victory over the Clippers, 119-114.
Before we get to what I saw, some notes.
Contextual Notes
The Clippers were without Brandon Boston Jr. and Jason Preston, who are on assignments with Los Angeles’ G-League affiliate. Moussa Diabate is on a Two-Way assignment with the Clippers’ G-League affiliate and was unavailable.
John Wall missed the game with a sprained right ankle.
Tyronn Lue started Reggie Jackson, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Marcus Morris Sr., and Ivica Zubac.
The Sixers were without Tyrese Maxey, who continues to ramp up for a return from a small fracture in his left foot.
Before the game, Doc Rivers expressed doubt that Maxey would be ready in time for Christmas Day’s game against the Knicks. But, he claimed that Maxey is close to suiting up for the Sixers.
Saben Lee and Julian Champagnie are on Two-Way G-League assignments with the Delaware Blue Coats and were unavailable.
Rivers started James Harden, De’Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, and Joel Embiid.
Likes
The Sixers have ridden some roller-coasters to get to 6-0 on this seven-game home-stand. But, there weren’t many impressive performances because the opposition either wasn’t that good or was down its best players. The Clippers, with both Leonard and George available — something that has become increasingly uncommon — provided a taller task. It could’ve been a rude awakening from the jump, the Sixers thinking a little too highly of themselves in the midst of a hot stretch only to come out and get punched in the face.
But, Embiid was ready to go from the start. He poured in 15 points in his first run, setting the tone in the early-goings for his team. But, talking about that, alone, loses the lede. Embiid and Leonard went back and forth all quarter, with George picking up the slack when the two checked out for their respective teams. A great display of shotmaking from stars in the first quarter, a nice change in pace form the imbalance that favored the Sixers on this home-stand.
Embiid’s early heater made Harden’s job quite…
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