PHILADELPHIA —As Joel Embiid dished to Seth Curry with less than five minutes to play, the savvy Wells Fargo Center crowd immediately yelled, “Shoot!”
This is always a wise choice for Curry, a career 50% shooter from the floor. But this particular basket finished off another Embiid milestone.
Embiid recorded his third-career triple-double Monday night, finishing with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to propel the 76ers to a comfortable 133-113 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Wells Fargo Center.
It was the Sixers’ second triple-double in the past week. Tobias Harris recorded the first of his career with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in last Tuesday’s victory at Toronto. It was Embiid’s first triple-double since he recorded 34 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists against Milwaukee on April 4, 2019.
It was also Philly’s fourth consecutive victory, a positive start to a January when the Sixers will play 10 of their 15 games at home and four consecutive opponents with losing records.
For a half, the Sixers again struggled against an undermanned and inferior opponent at home. The Rockets entered Monday as losers of seven consecutive games and 11 of their past 13. And they did not have standouts Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr., who were both suspended for their behavior during Saturday’s loss at Denver. But they hung around during the first 24 minutes by scoring 16 fast-break points and going 15 of 20 from the free-throw line.
But Philly created the distance in the third quarter that they rode for the rest of the night. Curry’s three-pointer put the Sixers up, 82-71, with less than eight minutes to play in the period. An Embiid baseline fadeaway increased that advantage to 89-76 with about five minutes remaining. And an Isaiah Joe three-pointer pushed the Sixers’ lead back to double digits, 101-90, in the quarter’s final minute.
That lead ballooned to as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter.
Embiid, again
Massive performances are now becoming routine during this monster stretch for Embiid.
He had a double-double by halftime, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. But he opened the Sixers’ decisive third quarter with a three-pointer, then rattled home a jumper. He found Georges Niang in the corner for a three-pointer that gave the Sixers an 87-75 lead about midway through the period.
He re-entered the game in the fourth with nine assists, then exited shortly after Curry’s make to complete the triple-double.
Embiid struggled to finish offensively early, missing three consecutive attempts at the rim and then failing to convert through contact on an and-1 in the first quarter. But then he got rolling, getting around the defender with a Euro step for a monster one-handed dunk and then unleashing a crossover and pull-up jumper late in the period.
Philly naturally turned to Embiid when Houston made its second-quarter push, including on a drive, spin and finish around Daniel Theis to give the Sixers a 60-55 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the half.
Complementary contributions
With starting point guard Tyrese Maxey and perimeter defensive ace Matisse Thybulle in health and safety protocols, multiple players stepped into larger roles Monday.
Furkan Korkmaz slid into the starting lineup and was an offensive spark immediately and often, with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He made his first three three-pointers. He converted an and-1 finish early in the third quarter. He hit a jumper late in the third to put the Sixers up, 93-81, then drew a foul in the open court. He also pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out six assists.
Danny Green, in his first game back from health and safety protocols, finished with six points in 23 minutes. He missed his first three-pointer from the left corner in the second quarter, then sprinted to the opposite side to bury a shot behind the arc off an Andre Drummond offensive rebound. He then hit another on the next possession.
Isaiah Joe also totaled 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Paul Reed (two points in six minutes) re-entered the first-half rotation.
Harris’ struggles continue
Tobias Harris raised his arms to encourage the crowd, as if he knew he deserved the boos.
He had just missed a three-pointer and shot near the basket on consecutive possessions, continuing a dreadful shooting stretch for the standout forward. Harris went 3 of 10 from the floor in the first half, then did not take a shot in the third period.
But he did catch some rhythm in the fourth. He finished a layup in the opening moments of the period, then secured an offensive rebound and put back to give the Sixers a 112-96 advantage with less then 9 minutes to play. He later grabbed another offensive board for a follow dunk.
Aside from a 7-of-13 effort at Boston on Dec. 20 and 10-of-16 performance against Washington on Dec. 26, Harris is shooting 31% (26 of 84) in the Sixers’ other five games since Dec. 13. He entered Monday shooting 45.2% from the floor, his worst percentage since 2017-18 and a significant dip from 51.2% mark from last season, and 29.6% from beyond the arc, his worst mark from there since 2013-14.
Harris received more boos when he was stripped in the paint in the third quarter’s final minute.
Harris does continue to find other ways to contribute during this shooting slump, totaling six assists and six rebounds Monday night.
