James Harden had 27 points, 12 assists and 8 rebound in his first game for the 76ers. (1:41)
The curtain was raised for the first time on the partnership between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers as they took on the Minnesota Timberwolves. After two weeks of anticipation, opening night lived up to the hype.
Philadelphia was led by Harden's 27 points, eight rebound and 12 assists, and by Embiid's 34 points and 10 rebound, as the 76ers defeated Minnesota 133-102.
Doc Rivers said before the game that the 76ers don't need to overcomplicate this early on. We do that, and we will be fine.
The 76ers had a comfortable win over the Wolves on Friday night and gave their stars a seat on the bench for the final minutes.
Harden took the court for the first time as a 76er with a white sleeve on his left leg that matched his white jersey.
Harden was content to move the ball through the opening minutes, rather than trying to score himself.
It was a familiar sight when Harden finished a layup at the rim, plus a foul, with 8:43 remaining in the first quarter. He picked up his first assist a short time later when he hit Harris on a delayed break for a pull-up 3-pointer that capped a 15-0 Wolves run and forced their coach to call timeout.
The two superstars began to find their rhythm as the game wore on. When Harden and Embiid ran a pick-and-roll, there was a good scoring opportunity. Playing against a Minnesota team that commits more fouls per game than any other NBA team, it was no surprise that the two best foul-drawers in the league spent the game at the charity stripe. They combined for 19 free throws in the first half, which was more than the entire team of Minnesota.
With Harden now on the court, this gave Rivers a chance to see if he would follow through with his vow to staggering his four best offensive players.
The logic was sound, as it would allow the 76ers to be as effective as possible on the offensive side of the ball. It is something that Rivers has shied away from in the past.
Rivers started the game doing that. At the five-minute mark of the first quarter, Harden and Harris were to be replaced by Furkan Korkmaz and Georges Niang. Throughout the game, he stuck to having at least two of those guys out there at all times, and never had a time when either Harden or Maxey was off the court except for a defense-only possession to end.
When Maxey went to the bench early in the third with his fourth foul, Rivers had an all- bench lineup on the court for a couple of minutes late in the third quarter.
For the 76ers team that spent months waiting to see what would happen with Ben Simmons, the game was about Harden and Embiid. Friday night was an example of why Morey waited for the right player to come along to trade Simmons.
Harden pulled off three of his patented stepback 3-pointers, two of which became four-point plays, and another as the shot clock wound down in the third, as Philadelphia casually put the game out of reach. When Philadelphia only had one point guard on its roster, Harden's passing ability immediately unlocked things that had otherwise been dormant for the team.
One example was a behind-the-back dish to Embiid for a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Even though it didn't result in a basket, there was a slip pass to Embiid in an open pocket in the defense at the free throw line.
Maxey, who finished with 28 points on 12-for-16 shooting, repeatedly slicing through the defense for floaters and layups at the rim, was one of the things opened up by Harden. He knocked down a couple of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, and had Minnesota flummoxed all night.
Philadelphia was up by 27 after the second one, which came off a Harden pass. Harden raised his hands to the sky and let out a roar as he walked back to the bench for the final time of the night, capping off what could only be described as a debut that was everything the 76ers hoped it would be.
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