Philadelphia 76ers' 'unstoppable' duo of Joel Embiid, James Harden use bevy of FTs to roll Knicks

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After playing two games with James Harden, it took a single word for Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid to describe how he felt about the way the two superstars fit together in the offense.

After finishing with 37 points, including 23 free throws, and the most attempts by any player in a single game in nearly three years, he said with a smile, "Unstoppable." He had a double-double in the Philadelphia victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

He is a great passer, and I have someone next to me that attracts a lot of attention to him, so what are you going to do? Do you stay with him or do you leave? If you want to guard both of us with the other guys, you have to make shots, and that's because you have one job to do. We have to keep doing that.

I'm happy I don't have to post up every single possession, so it's great

The first two games were hard to argue with. Philadelphia has averaged 129 points per game, even after shooting 10-for-33 from 3-point range Sunday, and the two players are making a lot of trips to the foul line. The two had 37 free throw attempts against the Knicks on Sunday, after they had 22 against the Timberwolves on Friday. Harden was perfect from the line.

Anthony Davis shot 27 free throws in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies in October, and that was more than anyone else. The New York centers, Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims, both had to leave the game by the early stages of the fourth quarter.

The job of the 76ers is to put pressure on the rim, said James Harden, who had 29 points, 10 rebound and 16 assists to post his first triple-double as a 76er. Pressure night-in and night-out is going to be difficult for teams to cover because of the number of opportunities he had with and-1s where he just didn't convert.

It took no time at all for Harden and Embiid to get into a rhythm in the pick-and-roll. While he has never preferred to be a roll man in two-man actions, he had a lot of success with it against the Knicks.

The big man liked how he mixed up rolling to the rim and popping to the 3-point line through the first two games, and said part of the reason he was willing to roll as much as he did Sunday was because he struggled to hit shots from the perimeter.

I thought I did a good job in the last two games. I didn't make any shots from the outside like I usually do, but I did make some shots against Minnesota.

It is all about mixing. He attracts so much attention that you can't go wrong with either choice. If I make a lot of outside shots, I will pop a lot, and then tonight I saw I could get to the free throw line whenever I wanted. That was the reason I was so aggressive.

Minnesota and New York were good opponents for the 76ers to start against. Minnesota fouls more than any other team in the league, while the Knicks are tied for the seventh-most fouls per game. Through two games, the 76ers have been as dominant as they could have been.

Much of that is down to the two-man game of Harden and Embiid. Second-year guard Maxey had a second straight strong game and was one of the immediate beneficiaries.

Maxey went 3-for-5 from 3-point range, finishing with 21 points, seven rebound, three assists and two steals. He said he is excited to play with a pair of superstars in Harden and Embiid.

It's... Maxey said he had no words for it. They are going to score if they don't foul them. It is amazing to play with guys like that.

I try not to take it for granted because you never know. Playing with guys like this is extremely special, playing with a formerMVP and a guy up here who I think is the most valuable player this year, the big fella next to me, I just try to go out and help.

After his first two games in a Philadelphia uniform, and with a second game against the Knicks coming Wednesday, the 10-time All-Star said his body is feeling good.

Harden said his body feels great after his second game in a month. It feels great. I have not felt this way in a long time. My extra step, my pop, it feels great. Continue to work, build my body and legs, and keep pushing.