James Harden’s first with Philadelphia began ideally: the 76ers, in the first quarter, inflicted a 15-0 on the Timberwolves on their floor, and quickly took a 10-point lead (16-6).
The most famous bearded guy in the league is discreet at the start and leaves Joel Embiid (10 points, 6 rebounds) in charge. As for the Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell limit the breakage (8 points each), but their team is in slow motion after the first 12 minutes (34-25).
The rest of the first half does not smile on the locals: James Harden is gaining momentum (12 points during the quarter), Tyrese Maxey too, and the 76ers remain calm. Despite a brief reaction from Wolves, spurred on by a D’Angelo Russell who added 9 more points to his personal counter, Doc Rivers’ men drove the point home late in the first half and clocked in at +16 ( 65-49) when joining the locker room.
After the break, the gap increases to +22, then to +25 halfway through the third quarter. Wolves lose ground and give in to the onslaught of Joel Embiid, who scores 13 points in the quarter. Anthony Edwards brings a glimmer of hope at the end of the quarter: the back scored his team’s last 9 points over the period and brought Wolves down to -18 (92-74) after 36 minutes in this match.
The last unsurprising quarter is a 12-minute “garbage time” during which the players simply inflate their totals, while the suspense has already been buried for long minutes, before the benches empty in the last moments. At the end of a well-managed meeting, the 76ers ensure a grandiose James Harden a great victory for his first (133-102).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Two fives, two dynamics. The 76ers starters all finished the game with a positive +/-, while the five Wolves starters did the opposite. Two opposing dynamics that were felt during the meeting: 4 of the 5 holders of Philly exceeded 10 points at 50% on shots, against only one for Minnesota (Russell).
– Anthony Edwards, in the hard? Author of 15 points on 13 shots (1/6 from 3-pointers), the back forced a lot. He has a fourth consecutive match under 50% shooting success (3/10, 0/8 and 1/11 during the three previous matches), and one wonders if he is really rid of his knee pain which bothered him at the beginning of the month. Very short on many of his shots, he seems to be running out of juice lately.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ James Harden. First more than successful for the bearded man with Philly: 27 points (7/12), 8 rebounds and 12 assists. Close to the triple-double, he spoke about his vision of the game on “pick-and-roll” and his incredible qualities of scoring against a helpless Minnesota defense. Adroit from a distance (5/7) and aggressive towards the circle as usual (8/9), he left his opponents no chance. His duo with Joel Embiid is already perfectly functional and announces very big offensive cards to come.
✅ Joel Embiid. The pivot of the 76ers, like his new partner of “pick-and-roll” mentioned above, also released the heavy artillery on the floor of the Wolves: 34 points (10/18), and 10 rebounds. Difficult to contain without making mistakes (11/13 on free throws), he also penalized behind the arc (3/5). In defense, Karl-Anthony Towns, although he delivered a good game in attack, did not make the weight.
✅ Tyrese Maxey. Here he is the third member of Philly’s new “Big Three”. Now freed from certain creative responsibilities following the arrival in the major five of “The Beard”, the former Kentucky back can focus more on “scoring”. Against Wolves, that’s what he did: 28 points at 12/16, but also 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. A very big all-around game, in short. If he regularly displays such a level on offense, in addition to his two All-Star teammates, the 76ers will be very, very difficult to maneuver.
✅⛔️ Karl Anthony Towns. Mixed match for the pivot. Because despite a slump in the second quarter, “KAT” delivered a good match, in the collective sinking of Wolves. He finished the game with 25 points (8/19, 7/7 in throws), including 13 in the fourth quarter (admittedly devoid of any suspense), but also 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Defensively, however, he took on water against the domination of Joel Embiid.
THE FOLLOWING
Minnesota (32-29): Monday, trip to Cleveland
Philadelphia (36-23): return to the East on Sunday, for a trip to Madison Square Garden of the Knicks
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