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The Philadelphia 76ers stretched their winning streak to three straight games thanks to a 104-101 victory on Monday night. The Sixers had three players in double figures, including Joel Embiid (30 points) who returned from a foot injury and shook off rust early to dominate.
Embiid finished with 30 points, plus lock-down defense and timely passing. Tobias Harris (24 points) and Shake Milton (21 points) continued their brilliant run of basketball, too. It was an ugly game, a back-and-forth affair that the refs attempted to influence with quick whistles.
The Sixers gutted it out for all four quarters to improve their record to 12-9 and take sole possession of the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference over the Atlanta Hawks.
“There were a lot of times where we caught ourselves down 10 points, 13 points and what not, but we kept fighting throughout the whole night and we were able to create something towards the end of the game,” Harris said. “Got some energy towards the end of the third quarter to give us some life there and once we were able to do that, we were able to just flow and do what we do to close out a good home victory.”
Sixers 104, Hawks 101: 5 Things We Saw at The Center
Joel Embiid Plays Cornerback: Chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP” rained down hard in the final 5.1 seconds after Embiid rose up to intercept a pass from Trae Young intended for John Collins. If the lob had gotten through the Sixers’ defense, then the Hawks would have been in prime position for an easy layup. Embiid swatted the basketball and ripped it down from the air, perhaps stealing a page out of Darius Slay’s playbook. He was immediately fouled and went down the other end to ice the game with two free throws. Game over. The Big Fella finished with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists in his first game back from a foot injury. Embiid and Slay swapped jerseys after the game.
Stop the P.J. Tucker Slander: Doc Rivers doesn’t want to hear any more P.J. Tucker slander. The savvy veteran made life difficult for anyone he was matched up on. He fouled Collins with 3.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter to stop Atlanta from getting a chance at a clean look for a game-tying triple. His final stat line: 0 points, 3 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Get in the Zone: The Sixers went into a 2-3 zone defense and forced the Hawks to hit perimeter shots. They couldn’t buy a bucket for a long stretch in the second quarter as they watched a 16-point lead evaporate down to 4 points at halftime. It wasn’t all bad: Atlanta shot 50% from the field, 44.4% from 3-point range for the game. However, Matisse Thybulle and Paul Reed were able to impose their will when it mattered most and scared the Hawks into bad shots. It marked the second straight night Atlanta struggled to adjust.
James Harden Close to Returning: The original timeline pegged Harden’s return from a strained right foot tendon around December 3. That means – best-case scenario – the future Hall of Famer could be back in time for Friday’s game against Memphis. Is Harden still on schedule? Head coach Doc Rivers wouldn’t give up the goods, although he promised the team would issue an updated injury report soon before adding: “I know James is on the floor working, I know that much. I don’t think Tyrese [Maxey] is.”
Milton-to-Embiid Connection: Shake Milton’s chemistry with Joel Embiid, especially on pick-and-rolls, is undeniable. The Big Fella was actively trying to get his backup point guard going early in this one and eventually did. Those two have been teammates for five seasons now and just seem to organically anticipate each other’s needs on the court. After the game, Milton admitted that he intentionally tries to whip perfect pocket passes to Embiid on the nail and elbow: “Get Jo in his sweet spot,” Milton said, “and it ended up working out for us.”
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